L’Équipe report that a troika of clubs have made contact with 26-year-old French left-back Jordan Amavi, whose contract with Marseille expires in June.
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OM Head of Football Pablo Longoria has been negotiating with the player’s representatives over a possible contract extension, but talks are at a dead end.
Crystal Palace have shown the most interest in signing Amavi on a free transfer in summer so far, but Napoli and Arsenal have also made contact.
Speaking in an interview with TF1, 19-year-old French central defender William Saliba explained his loan move to OGC Nice from Arsenal until the end of the season.
On if he had been told a year ago that he would play for Nice vs St Étienne in January 2021:
Honestly, if you told me a year ago, I honestly would not have believed you.
On his difficult time at Arsenal:
I really, really, really didn’t think that I would be transferred for €30m, to think that I would arrive, where people were expecting a lot from me, the fans excited about me and you find yourself in the reserves, play zero, zero nothing in the Europa League or the league. I was in the squad once in the league cup. It hurt me, it affected me. I don’t think I left too early. When you feel ready you have to go. I don’t think I left too early. These things happen. I believe in myself.
On moving to OGC Nice:
For me the best choice, best decision was to join OGC Nice because there is a good project, a good team, a good level of ambition, who like to play in a certain way. It feels good to play and to have consistent game time, I am young, I am 19, and it is by playing matches like this that you improve. You see what mistakes you make and you correct them. For the next match. It is true that for the moment we are not in a great situation, but we are going to do everything we can to get out of this.
On Dante’s injury:
After Dante’s injury, who is a top defender and the boss of this team, I was contacted by the board to see if I was ready to take up this role. I said yes, even though I am young, but that is not at all me being pretentious or big-headed.
On his future:
I don’t know. I have learned now that it is better not to look too far in the future. So I am focused on just these 6 months to try to give absolutely everything and for the rest we will see.
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Canal Plus on Friday reported that negotiations between an unnamed group and Frank McCourt over the purchase of Ligue 1 side Marseille had reached an advanced stage – claims that have since been shot down by the American owner of the club.
The report suggested that negotiations were ongoing over the sale of the club for around €480m, despite McCourt having wanted €600m. It further explained that Luis Campos, who is currently in Marseille, would be part of the future owner’s project and that French President Emmanuel Macron has participated in the discussions, with current Marseille boss Jacques-Henri Eyraud wanting to remain part of things when the takeover occurs. The new project would also seek to buy the Stade Vélodrome from the local government and that DP World would likely become the club’s new principal sponsor.
McCourt came out on Friday afternoon to deny this: “My commitment to OM, its employees, the city and all Marseille people is unrelenting. I will stay, alongside the OM board and its president, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, invested to bring this project all the way. We owe this to Marseille and its history, its past, present and future. I am also wondering what the origin is of these repetitive disinformation campaigns and ask myself who profits from these manipulations.”
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Ligue 1 side Lille are in talks to appoint Martin Buchheit as their new Head of Performance, with physical conditioning expert having held the position at PSG for 6 years until last year, when he was replaced by Aspetar academy’s Gian Nicolas Bisciotti according to RMC.
LOSC President Olivier Létang is looking to shake up a sector of the club’s staff which is currently run by Spanish duo Pedro Gomez and Alberto Piernas. He has already worked with Buchheit during their shared time together at PSG.
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Les Dogues are also looking into hiring an additional fitness coach alongside Buchheit, which would surely signify the departures of Gomez and Piernas.
Speaking in an interview with L’Équipe Mag, AS Monaco boss Niko Kovac sought to summarise his management style.
“I always have a plan, a precise idea of where I want to go. But when I see something better, I’m always open. I have known great coaches in my career, one of whom told me this: it is not important to know everything in life, it is important to know those who know. You need to have a coaching staff where each member is the best in their field. I’m not Louis XIV, “the State is me!” (In French) And if I’m wrong, I know how to apologise to the players, supporters and even journalists. Watch the post-match conference against Lyon (1-4, October 25), I admitted to making a bad decision. We’re all human. On the other hand, I do not compromise in terms of respect and attitude when at work. As long as I see someone eager to progress, everything is fine.”
You said during your playing career: ”You have to be bastards sometimes.” As a coach too?
On a pitch, you have to try everything that is allowed to win the match, success remains the cornerstone of football. At home, the structure is German, but the passion is Croatian. I can be very passionate.
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L’Équipe report that Belgian international and 25-year-old central defender Jason Denayer has received a contract extension proposal from Lyon, which includes a major salary hike.
Denayer has been a complete success since arriving in Ligue 1 in the summer of 2018 – his current contract runs until June 2022, and the proposal on the table is to extend until June 2025.
Napoli have strong historic interest in the ex-Manchester City player. Despite Joachim Andersen’s excellent performances for Fulham this season, OL’s current position is still to seek to offload the Danish international in summer, with the London club being first in line to make a bid to sign him permanently, should they avoid relegation from the Premier League.
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PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino provided an update on the fitness of Kylian Mbappé after the French international attacker was withdrawn with an injury as Les Parisiens’ 3-1 victory over Metz drew to a close.
“He received a knock to the quadriceps. We hope it’s not too serious. But Kylian was relaxed at the time of his replacement, even though a knock is still painful.”
PSG face Manchester City in the 1st leg of the Champions’ League semi-final in mid-week.
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RMC Sport report that Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur are keen to move Ivorian international full-back Serge Aurier on this summer, and are willing to do so for a fee of €10m.
He is on a shortlist for PSG, who intend to recruit in this sector this summer – the club has an €8m option to buy Italian international right-back Alessandro Florenzi from AS Roma, and whilst a final decision has yet to be taken on this, the situation is trending negative in terms of Les Parisiens extending the Italian’s adventure in the French capital.
In January, Spartak Moscow and AC Milan showed interest in Aurier, but the Ivorian at that juncture decided to remain in England – the idea of returning to Paris is something that would majorly interest him. The outlet claims that AC Milan are still interested in Aurier, whilst Atletico Madrid are keeping an eye on him in the even that Kieran Trippier exits this summer.
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French football, the 2020/21 edition, still hasn’t told its whole story with two games to go in Ligue 1 and just one set of fixtures left in Ligue 2.
Ligue 1 has seen a riveting battle at the top between Lille, PSG, Monaco and Lyon.
The northern outfit is in an incredibly good position to clinch the league after winning it 10 years ago (remember that squad? The one with Mickaël Landreau in goal, Mathieu Debuchy and Adil Rami at the back, debuts given to one Idrissa Gueye now earning petulant red cards at PSG, Eden Hazard showing the world what he could do and Gervinho’s haircut?). How far have they come since almost getting relegated 3 seasons ago (an event that surely would have seen them go bankrupt given Gérard Lopez’s financial gymnastics)! With Christophe Galtier in charge, Lille have gone to dead certs for Ligue 2 to one of the most entertaining sides to watch in Europe. Mike Maignan (will he go to AC Milan?) has been arguably the best keeper in the league, Sven Botman a terrific find, Boubakary Soumaré & Benjamin André doing wonders in midfield and Yilmaz proving that he can do it outside of the Turkish league (what a player that guy is). The team has gelled well and Galtier got his side out of the Europa League trap at the right time (would Lille have won key games like the one at Lyon playing twice a week? Unlikely). They are certainly deserving of winning this highly competitive league. Still need 4 points to make it certain though…
PSG could still win it but the capital club have shot themselves in the foot more than once. Subpar performances have become the norm (the latest at Rennes last Sunday being a typical example) and the lack of coherent gameplan from Mauricio Pochettino is obvious for all to see. The board is more interested in extending the contracts of their megastars Kylian Mbappé & Neymar than having any clear sporting direction. Now that Neymar has extended his deal, Doha will turn to the Bondy youngster but what will be done to address the frailties in other areas (the full-back positions need serious addressing)? The club has resorted to extending fringe, squad players’ contracts more out of a lack of ideas than decent strategy (see Layvin Kurzawa & Julian Draxler). PSG don’t deserve to win the league and they know it.
In third we have Monaco who have been great fun to watch. Niko Kovac has been the first impressive managerial appointment since Monaco reached the Champions’ League semi-finals 4 years ago (Leonardo Jardim sacked, then reinstated, then sacked) and the football has been very entertaining. They boast the second best attack at the time of writing with Lyon, with both sides at loggerheads to clinch this much coveted third place and final ticket into the Champions’ League for next season.
Lyon have also been entertaining but in their own way: Memphis Depay has been good value to deliver goals and dangerous play in and around the penalty box and it is impressive to see Les Gones scoring so many goals with lesser players than the Dutch but always willing to put the work in (Karl Toko Ekambi, Tino Kadewere).
For the last 2 matchdays we have Monaco hosting Rennes before travelling to Lens (respectively 7th & 6th which is a tough run-in) while Lyon travel to Nîmes (who will be fighting for their lives) and then host a Nice side with nothing to play for. Monaco are just 1 point clear with 2 games to go but Lyon have a better goal difference and an easier run-in. Who will clinch 3rd?
At the bottom, things are also far from over. Except for Dijon that is.
It is impressive how many points Lorient & Nîmes have picked up in the second half of the season. Lorient won just 3 games in the first half of the season (including a 3-0 win vs Nîmes) gaining a meagre 12 points but have earned 26 in 2021 meaning that Les Merlus have managed to keep their head above water (for now). Same goes for Gard side Nîmes: they managed the same amount of wins as Lorient in the first half of the season but they magically achieved radically better results, thanks to the brilliant leadership of Pascal Plancque. With 35 points, Nîmes have managed an equally impressive recovery. They might still go down but not without a fight. Kudos to both of them as they were on the same number of points as Dijon at Christmas!
Besides those two, big traditional Ligue 1 clubs may say hello to the 2nd tier if they are not careful. Nantes showed that a managerial change was not necessarily the solution with such a talent-ridden squad, although Antoine Kombouaré’s ultra-attacking 4-2-4 shape has paid dividends recently. Bordeaux are doing everything they possibly can to get relegated, while Strasbourg & Brest have both flattered to deceive. The former has never waved farewell to relegation this season entirely (best league position was 13th in mid-January) but there were some strong performances thrown in by Thierry Laurey’s men (the win against Monaco in March stands out) while the latter played some great stuff at times but were far too irregular in 2021 (just 4 wins in the 2nd half of the season).
So how will it all end? Nîmes will probably go down as second bottom as they face two tough games (Lyon at home & Rennes away) but the play-off spot is anyone’s guess. Nantes are currently 18th but they play Dijon next and Brest are just 3 points away from Les Canaris. Strasbourg vs Lorient on the final day will go a long determining who plays against the Ligue 2 outfit.
Speaking of Ligue 2, what a season it has been. We’ve had three highly entertaining sides in Troyes, Clermont and Toulouse winning games on most weekends but only two of them can go up automatically. Troyes clinched promotion (and the league) on Saturday so it will go down to the wire between Clermont and Toulouse on the final day (unless Toulouse don’t beat Pau on Wednesday which is unlikely but would virtually promote Clermont). Whatever way you look at it, a rugby town will be represented in France’s topflight next season (yes, Clermont is rugby territory, few really care about football down there).
Whoever does not make it to the runners-up spot will have to go through the play-offs against sides they should be beating comfortably. Grenoble & Paris FC have had their moments but are not on a par with the top 3 (actually Auxerre had a golden opportunity to invite themselves to the play-off party but they blew it missing a stoppage-time penalty against Grenoble last Saturday).
Just like in Ligue 1, a historical club may go down from Ligue 2 in Caen. SMC are likely to finish 18th, which would see them contesting in a play-off against Villefranche (of National 1, France’s 3rd tier) if not worse (Chambly could relegate them directly by finishing above them). Dunkerque are also heavily looking over their shoulders but are in less danger than Caen.
Finally, let’s welcome back Bastia who have returned to professional football after 4 years climbing back up the football league ladder. They go up with Quevilly-Rouen (which is not the main club in Rouen – that’s Rouen FC) who will be enjoying their 2nd season in Ligue 2 (I’m not actually quite sure why they’re called Quevilly-Rouen as both clubs merged in 2015 but separated in 2018) Oh well.
The government stopped all non-league games with the lockdown at the beginning of November 2020 so no games to attend for us lower league match-going fans. Next season can’t come soon enough (if we can go to games all season long that is)!
P.B.
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Speaking in an interview with RMC Sport, Lille President Olivier Létang appeared to insist that he remained focused on retaining the services of Christophe Galtier, who is being pursued by INEOS and OGC Nice.
Olivier Létang, have you identified what you want in terms of Christophe Galtier’s replacement?
I am constantly questioned about the recruitment of the future coach of LOSC. Today and barring any changes, our manager under contract is Christophe Galtier. I have received his message expressing his desire to move on and I understand it, even if my wish is for him to remain. Lyon informed me of their discussions with him but had the courtesy and the morals to do so. I hear about advanced contacts with Nice, who have never contacted us, contravening the regulations. I trust that the board at Nice, who are also part of the board of directors of the LFP, will respect the rules. Before speaking on the future, I am waiting for a club to contact me to formalise their wish to hire Christophe.
Does that mean that Christophe Galtier will not leave Lille for free?
Yes, there will be a negotiation because Christophe is for us, and probably for his future club, an essential asset in the successes to come. And he has one year of contract left. I will defend the interests of LOSC and our entire community, as I would with the transfer of a key player. The recent coach transfers in Germany and Portugal show that a manager’s contract has value. And often a high value for the coaches that are sought after. The goal is not to block Christophe but to strike the right deal which would constitute a major transfer of this summer window, worth the amount of a talented player, if not more.
Have you still identified potential replacements?
For our part, we are studying numerous profiles from potential coaches, as well as certain sought after coaches, to prepare for the future. But we will not contact a coach who is under contract, unless we inform the club beforehand. We need to settle Christophe’s situation first to see things clearly, because Christophe remains our first choice.
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