Plagued by the health crisis and the Mediapro imbroglio, Ligue 1 anticipates a “difficult” transfer market in January, to the point of establishing a very modest Christmas list for the winter transfer window.
Here is, club by club, the movements to be expected between January 2 and 1is February:
ANGERS: stability in sight. Coach Stéphane Moulin expects “nothing” from the transfer window. The economic context does not allow much and “I am happy with the group I have,” he explained.
BREST: a hoped-for environment. Stade Brestois will not necessarily be active but can target a middle to succeed Ibrahima Diallo, who left for Southampton. “It may depend on the opportunities,” said coach Olivier Dall’Oglio.
BORDEAUX: degrease and rebalance. King Street shareholder will not make any effort in the direction of arrivals if there are no departures. On the side of wishes, coach Jean-Louis Gasset would have ticked as a priority a center forward and a strong number 6.
DIJON: no big movements. The Dijonnais are counting on some possible departures, such as the Ecuadorian left side Anibal Chala, who is on loan from Toluca (Mexico) and who no longer plays, or even Mounir Chouiar.
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LENS: some departures desired. Some players are expected to leave Artois in January to find playing time, such as Serbian defender Aleksandar Radovanovic and Burkinabe winger Cyrille Bayala.
LITTLE: no clearance sale. Despite the precarious financial situation and the sale of the club to the Luxembourg fund Merlyn Partners, there should be no bleeding at LOSC this winter according to the new president Olivier Létang, except “big proposal”.
LORIENT: adjustments needed. Despite nearly 30 million euros invested this summer, the promoted Lorient is looking for a right-back defender, or even an attacker in an offensive sector down.
LYON: the unknown Depay. For a player of the financial caliber of Memphis Depay, a departure (Barcelona, AC Milan) seems complicated given the financial context. For the rest, a loan from the Brazilian Jean Lucas, little used, is under consideration. And Moussa Dembélé, possible starting, will be unavailable for several weeks (fractured arm).
Marseille hopes to get rid of Sanson, Caleta-Sar, Mitroglou and Strootman
MARSEILLE: a “difficult” market. For President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, “it will be necessary to be smart”. “The transfer window promises to be difficult,” he said at the microphone of France Bleu Provence. Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas is still hoping for a top striker to compete with Dario Benedetto. On the departures side, the candidates remain the same, including Morgan Sanson, Duje Caleta-Car, Kostas Mitroglou or Kevin Strootman.
METZ: the wounded as reinforcements. FC Metz should not recruit during the transfer window, unless there is an unforeseen opportunity, and above all wants to “recover (his) injured”, according to coach Frédéric Antonetti.
MONACO: a workforce to be reduced. ASM wants more than anything to degrease, for example by giving up midfielder Youssef Aït Bennasser, winger Samuel Grandsir or striker Stevan Jovetic. On the arrivals side, the priorities would go to recruiting a central defensive midfielder and a central defender.
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MONTPELLIER: departures hoped for. Montpellier wants to part with players like Serbian striker Petar Skuletic or even midfielder Damien Le Tallec.
NANTES: inventory charge for Domenech. The club will probably start by giving new coach Raymond Domenech time to gauge his squad. Forwards Renaud Emond and Kalifa Coulibaly could leave.
NICE: replace Dante. “We are at work at the post of Dante”, captain and central defender broke by a long injury, warned Julien Fournier, the director of Nice football. The leaders could also aim for the offensive register on the left side.
NÎMES: an expected defender. Faced with injuries, the technical staff would like the arrival on loan of a central back.
PARIS SG: after Tuchel. While several media announced Thursday the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel and the imminent arrival of Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino, the transfer window of PSG seems for the time being conditioned by this revolution.
REIMS: no movement. Given the economic context, “we will not move”, told AFP Director General Mathieu Lacour. On the other hand, the striker Boulaye Dia (10 goals in L1) has a good exit.
RENNES: dead calm. “We do not aim to change this group,” President Nicolas Holveck told the Téléfoot channel.
SAINT-ETIENNE: Saliba back? With Greek defender Retsos unsure of staying, there is talk to replace him with a loan from William Saliba, the club’s child who left for Arsenal. A center forward is also envisaged, with limited resources.
STRASBOURG: the Simakan case. U20 international Mohamed Simakan, very close to signing for AC Milan at the beginning of October, will certainly stir up greed again.
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