After flying in Portugal‚ Zungu may face grim relegation battle in France

Bongani Zungu’s deadline day switch to the French Ligue 1 has seen him sign for Amiens Sporting Club‚ a team that won promotion to the top-flight at the end of last season.

Zungu has swapped the fourth-best team in Portugal's Primeira Liga last season‚ Vitoria Guimaraes‚ and Uefa Champions League football‚ for what could turn out to be a relegation battle in France‚ but the lure of playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues proved too good to turn down.

Amiens are a little-heralded side from the northern French city of the same name that is close to Lebo Mothiba at second-tier Valenciennes. French president Emmanuel Macron is from the tiny city of Amiens‚ 120 km north of Paris‚ population some 140 000.

Like most French sides‚ Amiens SC already have a number of stars from the African continent‚ including Senegal forward Moussa Konaté and defender Issa Cissokho‚ and Cameroon midfielder Guy Ngosso.

The club have also brought in Togo striker Serge Gakpé from Genoa and perhaps most significantly the brilliant‚ but injury-prone‚ Ivorian forward Lacina Traoré on loan from Monaco.

Amiens have also signed a pair of Brazilians in this transfer window‚ capturing defender Danilo Avelar on loan from Italian Serie A side Torino and midfielder Nathan from Chelsea.

They are coached by little known 51-year-old Christophe Pélissier‚ who has been in the job since 2015 and took the side to the runners-up spot in Ligue 2 last season that was enough to earn them promotion.

Amiens have not had the best of starts to the new campaign‚ opening with defeats to Paris St Germain (2-0)‚ Angers (2-0) and St Etienne (3-0)‚ before they caused a surprise with a 3-0 home win over Nice in their last game before the current Fifa international break.

- TimesLIVE