Who will win the bid for Georges Mikautadze? Once co-top scorer in the Euro, the Georgian striker fell stronger than him yesterday against Spain (1-4) and exits the round of 16 with his head held high. The 23-year-old player will take a few well-deserved days of rest before deciding his future, he who is being courted by several Ligue 1 teams: AS Monaco, Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais, RC Lens, PSG but also the Olympique de Marseille!
As a reminder, the Lyon native is now under contract with FC Metz, who sold him for €16 million last summer to Ajax Amsterdam. But the Dutch experience was catastrophic for Mikautadze, who was sent back to Lorraine in January. FCM, relegated at the end of the L1/L2 play-offs against AS Saint-Etienne (1-2; 2-2 aet), bought the striker for €13 million in the hope of making a nice capital gain on his sale this summer. It is therefore an understatement to say that the Metz management are expecting a large compensation for Georges Mikautadze and that they will sell him to the highest bidder.
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Mikautadze’s future linked to Aubameyang
Until now, AS Monaco seemed to have a head start on the competition, ahead of RC Lens, who would like to pair Mikautadze with Elye Wahi. But according to Tribune Olympienne, Olympique de Marseille has come back very strongly in the race and still has every chance of recruiting him in the transfer window. The new OM coach, Roberto De Zerbi, would obviously not be indifferent to his profile.
“OM is still interested in Georges Mikautadze but will only make an official offer if Aubameyang leaves. We should quickly know about the Gabonese’s future at OM since a meeting is planned between the Aubameyang clan and OM soon.” The resumption of Marseille version De Zerbi is scheduled for next Monday. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who showed on social networks that he was spending a very studious vacation, training hard every day, should meet the management on this occasion. According to the latest news, even if he had contacts with Saudi Arabia, the 35-year-old striker would be rather inclined to stay in Marseille. Moreover, the OM leaders would like to make him even more responsible by making him one of the team captains.
Her other suitors will go on the attack
This timing is OM’s main handicap in the race for Georges Mikautadze. Because, in a week, if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tells OM that he prefers to leave, the Georgian striker may no longer be on the market! His suitors have no interest in dragging things out, quite the contrary. The more clubs are interested, the faster negotiations need to go. By giving themselves an extra week to think about it, Olympique de Marseille is putting itself at a disadvantage. AS Monaco and RC Lens, who can both recruit now, without having to sell first (even Racing, which still needs to bring in €100 million), have already gone much further in the discussions.
In addition to the negotiation aspect, AS Monaco has its financial power linked to its particular tax status and its participation in the Champions League. The queen of continental events is another good reason for Georges Mikautadze to join the Rock. RC Lens is also European, which can weigh in the balance. OM would have its volcanic side, which knows how to seduce players. And also a good salary, probably not as high as that which Mikautadze would receive in Monaco, but substantial nonetheless because OM would save Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s emoluments. Olympique Lyonnais, finally, has the emotional side on its side since Mikautadze is originally from the capital of Gaul and spent part of his training with Les Gones.
We see, if the future of Georges Mikautadze is not yet defined, strong trends are emerging and Olympique de Marseille is clearly not in the best placed. With Euro 2024 over, the Georgian striker will have to make his choice but there is a greater chance of seeing him celebrate a goal by making binoculars in front of the sparse stands of Louis-II than at the Vélodrome…
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To sum up
Sought after by several French and foreign clubs in this summer transfer window, Georgian striker Georges Mikautadze (23 years old) has been eliminated from the Euro and will be able to think about his future more calmly. OM is still in the race.
