The most prolific Argentinian striker in Europe this season? Emiliano Sala

Who is the top-scoring Argentinian in Europe’s big leagues so far this season? It’s not Mauro Icardi, Gonzalo Higuaín, Lionel Messi or Sergio Agüero. That illustrious quartet are looking up at Emiliano Sala, a lanky 28-year-old striker who has never played for the national team. Sala scored a brace against hapless Guingamp this weekend to take his tally for the season into double figures, which is all the more remarkable given that Nantes have already sacked and replaced a manager this season.

When the season kicked off, Miguel Cardoso was in charge and Sala was not in his plans. The striker was nearly shipped to Galatasaray on the last day of the transfer window – a move the player was reportedly keen on – with Kalifa Coulibaly preferred in attack. Two goals from the bench in Nantes’ first three matches offered a solid rebuttal from Sala, who had scored a dozen league goals (no mean feat under previous managers Claudio Ranieri and René Girard) in each of his previous campaigns, but surely felt marginalised by the arrival of Majeed Waris along with an attacking philosophy that implied a lone striker. Sala’s goals were not enough to save Cardoso, who was replaced last month by the veteran manager Vahid Halilhodzic.

Halilhodzic is nothing short of a cult figure at Nantes, having won the title with the club as a player in the 1982-83 season, when he was also their top scorer. His managerial record has been a bit of a mixed bag. He has impressed in France and earned qualification to the World Cup with three different countries – with the Ivory Coast in 2010, Algeria in 2014 and Japan in 2018 – but he has also endured forgettable spells in charge of Trabzonspor and Rennes.

His arrival at the Stade de la Beaujoire, however, has been an unqualified success. Nantes have found a new lease of life under Halilhodzic, having been prosaic for so long under Girard, Ranieri and Michel Der Zakarian since their most recent promotion to the top flight in 2013. They have scored 14 goals in their last four matches – all of which have ended in victory and with Sala on the scoresheet

Halilhodzic knows all about scoring goals for Nantes, having set the club’s record goal tally of 29 in the 1984-85 season, and his attacking philosophy has certainly borne fruit this season. When asked about his prolific striker, the Bosnian manager hinted that Sala has not just improved on the pitch: “He scores? So what, he’s paid to do that. The goalkeeper doesn’t score. When I arrived, the lad had a very low level of morale, but he went to work. He’s not the type of striker we often see today, playing with his back to goal, but he gives our attack a focal point.”

Nantes have not had a focal point for a long time. The last time their top scorer hit more than 12 goals in a season was back in the 1999-2000 campaign. Sala was helped to his brace this weekend by some abject Guingamp defending a soft penalty but, make no mistake, he looks reinvigorated, surrounded by the creativity and pace of Anthony Limbombé and Gabriel Boschilia on the flanks. Sala’s ungainly style and lack of pace have made him a figure of fun in some quarters but he has continued to evolve, playing a slightly more withdrawn role to allow for the diagonal runs of his fellow attackers. At heart though he fits into the archetype of the powerful South American striker who is blessed with more physical gifts than elegance.

Sala made the move to Europe as a teenager to join the Bordeaux academy. He showed flashes of goalscoring prowess during loan spells at Caen and second-division Niort, but never really impressed for Bordeaux’s first team so was moved to Nantes for around €1m in 2015. He was far from prolific in his first season at the club – scoring just six goals in 31 appearances – but quickly endeared himself to fans with his hard work and willingness to press from the front; he was even happy to play in a wide role or off another striker at times

Now, with a team based around his talent and a manager willing to give his squad’s attacking talent greater responsibility, Sala could finally come good. Only Kylian Mbappé has scored more goals in Ligue 1 this season. Very suddenly the sky seems the limit for this unassuming striker.

Ligue 1 talking points

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Although Thierry Henry’s tenure at Monaco remains in its infancy, the scene in Monte Carlo is one of undeniable chaos. Injuries robbed Henry of five key starters for their 1-0 defeat at newly promoted Reims, but the manager questioned his players’ mental fortitude and desire, claiming a lack of confidence meant his team “involuntarily refused to play” as he wanted and “didn’t know how to create” despite 72% possession and having an extra man for 20 minutes. Henry’s use of immobile centre-back Kamil Glik on the right of a three-man defence only served to expose that flank, a weakness that led to Mathieu Cafaro’s winner. The 2017 champions are now 19th in the Ligue, four points from safety, having failed to win in their last 14 games – a “very disturbing” situation said Radamel Falcao afterwards.

St Étienne’s enthralling 4-3 win over Angers was the game of the season so far. Angers lost their talisman striker Karl Toko Ekambi to Villarreal in the summer – he had scored 17 goals for the club last season – but their coach, Stéphane Moulin, has again managed to squeeze the best from a limited team, who impressed in taking the lead twice before being overhauled. Mathieu Debuchy, whose header made it 2-1, and Rémy Cabella, whose cross forced a Vincent Manceau own goal and set up substitute Romain Hamouma’s late winner, were pivotal for St Étienne, who remain in contention for a return to the European Cup for the first time since 1981.

Ligue 1 table