Coach Laurent Blanc wants to clean up his locker room to revive Olympique Lyonnais, 9th in Ligue 1. By the end of the winter transfer window, on January 31, OL could make around ten transfers!
Blanc wants to upset the workforce of OL
Ninth in Ligue 1 after 19 days, 12 points in the Top 5, Olympique Lyonnais can no longer afford to lose any more points if they want to return to the European Cup next season. For this, Laurent Blanc has a plan.
White wants a electroshock
In its edition of the day, L’Equipe affirms that the Lyonnais coach wishes to clean up his workforce in order to create a electroshock . To relaunch the Rhone club, the Cvenol believes that it must maintain a base of a dozen players in order to change the mentality of its locker room. Thus, OL would like to part with five six elements by January 31!
As announced by President Jean-Michel Aulas on Thursday, right-back Malo Gusto and attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, courted respectively by Chelsea and PSG, will remain in Lyon until the end of the season. This is also the wish of Blanc, who is counting on the talent of the two men to help the team change their situation. On the other hand, many other players could leave.
Boateng, Aouar, Reine-Adlade…
In defence, the case of Jrme Boateng (34) is no mystery. Recruited in the summer of 2021 to bring his experience, the former Bayern Munich player is a disappointment and his departure this winter, six months from the end of his contract, would not be regretted by OL. In the same contractual situation, Damien Da Silva (34) is not retained. The former Rennais did not succeed in imposing himself at Les Gones and a first experience abroad would not displease him.
In midfield, it’s a traffic jam. If Corentin Tolisso, Maxence Caqueret and Johann Lepenant are part of the Lyon project, this is no longer the case for Houssem Aouar (24 years old) and Jeff Reine-Adlade (25 years old). The first is at the end of his contract in June and seems to need a new challenge to relaunch a retired career, the second was to leave for FC Sville but his loan failed after an unsuccessful medical examination. Thiago Mendes (30), targeted by Palmeiras, is also likely to leave.
A surprise departure from Tet?
In the offensive sector, Romain Faivre (24) wants to leave Lyon a year after his arrival from Brest. Problem, Lorient is dragging his feet to conclude a paying loan whose compensation is lower than that paid by Rennes for Karl Toko Ekambi (1.5 million euros + 1 M € bonus). For Moussa Dembl (26), it’s even more complicated. Six months from the end of his contract, the center-forward prefers to leave free in June because he believes he will have better offers. Finally, more surprisingly, winger Tet, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, could leave according to L’Equipe. An English club and another in Brazil are in the running.
Obviously, OL also hopes to recruit new players, to compensate for departures and strengthen certain positions. For example, the middle track Ellyes Skhiri (27) has been mentioned in recent hours after the failure of Joao Gomes (Flamengo). At the end of his contract next June with Cologne, the Tunisian international represents an affordable target for Lyon financially. In total, departures and arrivals, this could represent around ten movements. Possible in five days?
In your opinion, which players should OL absolutely keep? Do not hesitate to react and discuss in the area add a comment …
