In what is a big year for the midfielder, Tanner Tessmann has taken a step forward with Les Gones over the last 12 months. When the American arrived at Olympique Lyonnais, the biggest question was whe...
In what is a big year for the midfielder, Tanner Tessmann has taken a step forward with Les Gones over the last 12 months. When the American arrived at Olympique Lyonnais, the biggest question was whether he would be able to transition from Serie B with Venezia to playing in the French first division. The USMNT midfielder cost the Rhône club €6m, which represented a large outlay for the club given their threat of administrative relegation.
During the start of his first season at Lyon, the midfielder struggled for minutes. With competition for places in the middle of the park, the former Venezia midfielder was forced to impress when provided opportunities and he did just that. For the first half of the season, the 25-year-old made most of his appearances from the bench. However, following an impressive spell at the base of midfield, with standout performances against Reims and PSG, the US international made the position his own, and Nemanja Matić found his minutes drastically reduced.
Since finding his way into the team as a regular fixture, Tessmann has had an impressive influence on the way Paulo Fonseca wants his OL team to play. Playing as the defensive midfielder, commonly in a midfield three, the American midfielder is forced to play a more selfless role in the centre of the pitch to allow others around him to feature in more advanced roles to have a greater effect in attack. This could be seen with the advanced role Tolisso has undertaken since the Portuguese coach arrived and the success of Rayan Cherki in the second-half of the season before he moved to Manchester City.
2026 World Cup in sight for Tessmann
The impetus of Tessmann to dictate tempo at the heart of midfield and do the dirty work so others in front of him can thrive has increased this season. The summer transfer window saw lots of change at Lyon, with Matić and Jordan Veretout departing the club. Tessmann now represents a senior figure within the midfield roster at OL. However, since the arrival of Tyler Morton, the USMNT midfielder has been afforded more opportunities to push forward. This was visible with a tremendous strike from distance in the UEFA Europa League against Utrecht to get their European campaign off to the perfect start.
If Tessmann can continue to have a visible influence at Lyon, he will be hoping to carry that momentum into the summer, where he will represent the USA at a home World Cup.
Category: General Sports
