OL Mercato: Olympique Lyonnais’ head of recruitment, Bruno Cheyrou looked at the three problems burning the club at the end of the transfer window.
OL Mercato: Paqueta, Aouar and Dembélé highly admired
OL can sign departures at the end of the summer transfer window. Three important and coveted players could be transferred, subject to a satisfactory offer for the Rhone club. This is the Brazilian player Lucas Paquetathe pure creation of Olympique Lyonnais Houssem Aouar, and Moussa Dembele, top scorer for Les Gones last season. Paqueta (midfielder) is facing Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City where he could take Bernardo Silva’s announced departure. Aouar (midfielder) is in Leicester City’s plans, including Nabil Fekir’s Betis Sevilla.
According to Foot Mercato, who were promoted from the Premier League, Nottingham Forest, would have gone in for the French international (1 choice). The Lyon native has an exit voucher, one year from the end of his contract with his training team. As for Dembélé (center forward), he was in the plans of Arsenal, who were looking for a successor Alexandre Lacazette returned to Lyons. The Gunners eventually signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City for €52m. The OL striker is now Manchester United’s top priority, should Cristiano Ronaldo leave this summer.
The interest of Aouar, Dembélé and Paqueta, but nothing concrete
When asked about the three leading players at the end of the Gones window, Bruno Cheyrou agreed House of Aouar and Moussa Dembélé, whose contracts at OL expire in June 2023, are on the market. “He has only one year left to work in Houssem. And like all players in this situation, the question is very open. If there is an opportunity, let’s think”he said, before clarifying: “There are currently no advertisements. […] Moussa Dembele? Just “.
As for Lucas Paqueta, whose contract is valid until June 2025, he will only leave if he is given an undisputed offer. Lyon would expect at least €50m for his transfer. “We do not control anything in the market. If there’s an offer we can’t refuse, it’s more than me. It will be up to the President (Jean-Michel Auals) to decide “, he explained Bruno Cheyrou. The director of football and head of recruitment at OL also confirmed his interest in the trio. “There are preferences, but between what they offer and what they like, there is a small gap. They are top players… If they have another chance, we will learn what will happen.”he explained.
