After João Gomes, a second track to forget for OL
Olympique Lyonnais is in trouble, both sportingly and in the transfer window. The French club, dropped in Ligue 1 (9th), does not seduce anyone on the transfer market, while departures are increasing (Malo Gusto, Karl Toko Ekambi).
Wishing to recruit in the midfield, OL followed a few leads, including one leading to the Brazilian João Gomes. But the 21-year-old, playing at Flamengo, is set to join Premier League side Wolverhampton. Despite the English club’s delicate classification, João Gomes preferred Wolves to Lyon, a worrying sign of the French club’s downgrading.
For his part, John Textor spoke about Twitter regarding the situation, taking his hat off to… João Gomes: “It was too late for João Gomes. All my powers of persuasion (self-mockery) could not remove the sense of honor from this young man. He has given his word to Wolves and will not back down. I’m disappointed, but so impressed with a gracious young man with an incredible future. Good luck Joao!”
A fair play outing from the American, owner of OL.
Skhiri will not come
Another middle target, Ellyes Skhiri. The Tunisian international (52 caps) is out of contract in June 2023 with Cologne. OL tried to seduce the midfielder to recruit him this winter, but according to The Team, Ellyes Skhiri does not want to leave his club before the end of his lease. Blooming in Cologne, the player trained in Montpellier will therefore wait until this summer to leave the German formation.
In six months, says The Team, OL will have stronger competition on the file. Indeed, several clubs, including two Germans, have positioned themselves for the number 28 of Cologne, who has scored 4 times in 24 games this season. For his part, the Cologne coach, Steffen Baumgart, denied any possibility of leaving in comments relayed by World Eleven : “There are no requests, there are no conversations, at least not for the winter. For the summer we will make a decision.”
Ellyes Skhiri could also extend his lease with the 10th in the Bundesliga. In difficulty on the transfer window, OL only have a few days left to recruit.