Month: July 2023

As reported by the Swiss club, Nantes’ French striker Jean-Kévin Augustin has joined FC Basel on a free transfer after his contract with the Coupe de France winners came to an end.

Having impressed with French youth teams, notably alongside Kylian Mbappé at under 19 level, and coming through at PSG, much was expected to the young Augustin but, after a promising season with RB Leipzig where he made 18 goal contributions in the 2017/18 campaign, the now 25-year-old has struggled for form and fitness, following reported attitude problems.

Spells with Monaco and Leeds United came to little before he joined Nantes where he was sent to the reserves in December 2020 to work on his fitness by then-coach Christian Gourcuff. It was later revealed that the player had been suffering from depression, long COVID & Guillain-Barré syndrome.

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In two years at Nantes Augustin made just 15 outings, failing to score. In fact he hasn’t scored a league goal since the 2018/19 season in Germany but he will be hoping that, having signed a three-year contract with Basel, there’s a chance to rebuild his career in the Swiss Super League.

As reported by Fabrice Hawkins, PSG have drawn up a list of players the club is looking to move on this summer transfer window and it includes strikers Mauro Icardi and youngster Arnaud Kalimuendo, who has spent the last two seasons on loan at Lens.

The 20-year-old Kalimuendo is yet to confirm his intentions for the future with his management but he is highly-regarded on the transfer market after 12 goals in 32 Ligue 1 games this season, which followed 12 more goal contributions (seven goals and five assists) in the 20/21 season with RCL.

It was reported earlier this week that the striker had turned down recently promoted Premier League side Nottingham Forest with Newcastle and Leicester also interested. Lens, meanwhile, had been hoping to secure the player for a third loan season but, given PSG are now looking to cash in on his potential market value, that seems unlikely. Rennes and OGC Nice lead the Ligue 1 contingent looking to sign Kalimuendo for next season.

Icardi, meanwhile, has signalled his intention to stay put in Paris despite underwhelming since his €50m move from Inter Milan.

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L’Équipe report this afternoon that Angers forward Mohamed-Ali Cho is set to sign for Real Sociedad, with the La Liga side having beaten out Marseille to the French youth international’s signature.

The 18-year-old is set to sign a five-year deal with the Basques, with Cho having agreed personal terms after the two clubs found common ground over the transfer fee.

The transfer is set to bring Le Sco between €12m and €15m, as the La Liga side overtook OM, but also Eintracht Frankfurt, Real Betis and Salzburg to sign the prospect.

Cho, a former Everton and Paris Saint-Germain youth player, has made 32 appearances this season and scored four goals, as well as setting up another. At 18, he already has a total of 55 appearances in his two years as a professional so far.

His good form has led him to represent France at U21 level on 7 occasions. He had previously turned out for the England U15 and U16 teams as well before deciding to switch allegiances to the country of his birth.

 

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Reims have this afternoon announced the signing of American defender Kobi Henry from USL Championship club Orange County, joining on a five-year deal.

The 18-year-old is a youth international with the USA and made his first professional appearances two years ago, going on to play 30 matches for the Calfornia team and scoring 2 goals. He has turned out for the USA U17, U19 and U20 teams as well as attending a USMNT training camp in December.

Henry will first turn out for the Reims reserves team, who play in National 2, and finished eighth in the fourth tier last season. The centre-back had already gone on trial at Reims in January, but had to wait until his 18th birthday before making the permanent move across the pond.

ESPN have indicated that the transfer fee is set to be around $700,000, making Henry’s transfer the most expensive in USL history. A potential cut of a future transfer fee would see that figure move past $1m.

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Fabrice Hawkins reports this afternoon that Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma has passed his medical ahead of a €29m move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Mali international had come close to joining the North London side in January, and has always been set on making the move to the Champions League club.

The 25-year-old, formerly of Lille, had impressed at Brighton over the last four seasons in the Premier League, making 124 appearances and scoring six goals.

He was also a target of Monaco, as the Ligue 1 side sought to make up for the departure of French international Aurélien Tchouaméni for Real Madrid with a new midfield signing.

Instead, he joins the team managed by Antonio Conte. He becomes the English team’s third signing of the summer after the arrivals of goalkeeper Fraser Forster and the Croatian wide man Ivan Perišić.

In the Ivory Coast-born midfielder’s time in Ligue 1, he made 55 appearances and scored 4 goals, including a long-range free-kick against Toulouse in a relegation decider at the end of his second season. While in the north of France, he was notably managed by Marcelo Bielsa, who briefly deployed him as a full-back as well.

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Lyon have this morning announced the contract renewal of Brazilian midfielder Thiago Mendes, who has committed his future to the club until the end of the 2024/45 season.

The 30-year-old, who arrived from Lille in 2019, made 29 league appearances in what was a difficult season on and off the pitch for Les Gones, establishing himself as a regular under manager Peter Bosz.

Overall, he has just over a century of appearances for the club in three seasons, during which time he has registered one goal. He has appeared both in midfield as well as in central defence, his versatility proving key over the course of the campaign for Lyon.

The Brazilian’s renewal, which comes as his previous contract was expiring in just over a year, comes a week after the return of Alexandre Lacazette to the club, to much fanfare.

Lyon will be hoping that the striker’s return, as well as the potential signing of Corentin Tolisso on a free transfer, will signal the dawn of a new era built around home-grown players as they look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign that saw them miss out on Europe entirely. In any case, Thiago Mendes will be a central part of that.

 

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Fabrizio Romano is reporting that PSG sporting adivser Luis Campos is in direct contact with Renato Sanches (24) as he looks to make the Lille midfielder his first signing since taking up the role at the Parisian club. 

Sanches looked close to a deal and have been in discussions since January. They have also agreed personal terms with the player, but are yet to strike a deal with Les Dogues. 

Campos was responsible to bringing Sanches to Lille in 2019, where he helped Lille win the Ligue 1 title in the 2020/21 season. 

Meanwhile, progress is also being made on the Vitinha (22) deal, with a five-year contract for Campos’ compatriot being prepared. The club are also still in talks with Inter Milan over the signing of Milan Skriniar (27) after their opening bid for the defender was rejected.

Sanches made 25 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille last season, scoring twice and registering 5 assists. 

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Former AS Roma manager Paulo Fonseca is set to be announced as the new Lille manager today, according to Saber Desfarges. The Portuguese is set to sign a two-year deal and replaces Jocelyn Gourvennec, who left the club last week. 

Fonseca is set to be officially announced as Gourvennec’s successor on Tuesday afternoon and he is already in Lille to finalise the deal. He is set to bring four members of staff with him. 

Gourvennec and Lille reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their partnership after a disappointing season in which they not only failed to defend their title but also missed out on all forms of European football for next season. 

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Fonseca has been without a club since leaving Roma in 2021. Before his time in the Italian capital, Fonseca enjoyed a highly successful spell at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won three successive domestic titles in Ukraine. 

L’Équipe report tonight that Portuguese side Braga are interested in signing Sikou Niakaté from Guingamp, the defender having spent the past season on loan at Metz.

The Frenchman, who made 12 appearances in the top flight as Les Grenats suffered relegation after finishing 19th, will not stay on in Lorraine and the Breton management are prioritising a permanent transfer for him.

Braga’s offer, though, is for a loan deal. The 22-year-old’s contract with Guingamp expires in three years. Last year’s fourth-place finisher in the Portuguese top flight are expected to come back with a new offer in the coming days.

Niakaté came up through the youth academy at Valenciennes before moving on to Guingamp, where he made 55 appearances for the Ligue 2 side over two campaigns before moving east on loan.

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In any case, the French youth international will ostensibly not stay on with Metz as they start life in Ligue 2, despite the permanent option included in the deal.

As reported by RMC, Marseille have opened talks with representatives of Roma’s Dutch forward Justin Kluivert after his loan spell with OGC Nice came to an end at the end of this season.

The player’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta – who took over from Mino Raiola after he sadly passed away earlier this year, spoke with OM officials on Thursday over the 23-year-old joining the Velodrome club this summer.

Kluivert’s Roma contract has just one season left to run and he isn’t part of Jose Mourinho’s plans in the Italian capital. Although his form fluctuated wildly with Nice last season, the forward’s 12 goal contributions in 31 games across all competitions was enough to convince OM of his worth in French football.

Monaco are also said to be pursuing the Dutchman and the Principality side have been quoted €15m.

With coach Jorge Sampaoli reportedly considering his future over a slow start to the window, the club were given a boost this week as French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG, gave Marseille the green light on their 2022/23 budget, easing restrictions on wages.

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