It all started on December 10: after being reduced to pieces with Botafogo by the Mexicans of Pachuca during the quarter-final of the Intercontinental Cup in Doha (3-0), Thiago Almada announced his departure with great fanfare. « When I came here, we agreed that I would stay six months before going to Lyon. I believe the agreement will be respected. I thank the Botafogo supporters for their kindness », the Argentinian international said at the microphone of Cazé TV. If this choice is coherent, and rather logical since the winning club of the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores is part of the Eagle Football Group, of which John Textor, the president of OL, is the owner, the timing raises questions. Banned since mid-November from recruitment by the DNCG for the winter transfer window, the Rhone club had not yet revealed anything. Since then, Almada, guest on a TV showESPN Argentinaadded another layer: “Everything is arranged. They told me that they were going to resolve the financial problems that the club is going through and that everything was fine. »
Small agreements between friends
The question now is how the former Florida skateboarding prodigy, renowned for having atypical methods, will manage to circumvent this sanction and register the promising 23-year-old Argentinian. As the 2022 world champion assured, by signing this summer from Atlanta for 20 million euros, it was planned in his contract that he would join OL in January. The American would therefore frequently resort to contracts “ d’affiliation », in which early transfer clauses between the clubs of the group may appear. Another possibility would be to use a free loan.
Whatever happens, the Gones will have to make choices, because’Article 553 of the LFP professional football charter stipulates that each French club can have a maximum of four non-EU players. The Brazilian Abner, the American Tessmann, the Englishman Maitland-Niles are already in the squad, so there is only one place left. And everything suggests that it will be Almada, rather than the attacker auriverde Luiz Henrique, yet in the stands during OL's important success in the Europa League against Frankfurt (3-2), last week. For his part, Pierre Sage preferred to remain cautious at a press conference this Thursday. “It's quite surprising that a player would commit to this kind of position now, but I imagine he was expressing a wish, it's not official information. Only the club can do it. I'm waiting to see if the information becomes official.”temporized the Lyon coach.
Okay, but where to play?
Besides these purely contractual aspects, what role will Thiago Almada play in this team, on cloud nine for several weeks? Talent, Thiago Almada surely has it in spades since he is the most expensive transfer in the history of the Brazilian championship. Author of an attractive season with the Carioca club (26 matches for 3 goals and 2 assists), the attacking midfielder, capable of playing on both the left and right wing, has undeniable technical quality and an interesting projection capacity. while
Problem, to date, the offensive sector is clogged and places are expensive, especially given the good performances of Rayan Cherki and Malick Fofana. Alexandre Lacazette and Georges Mikautadze share the lead, leaving the crumbs – or nothing – to Gift Orban and Wilfried Zaha. Saïd Benrahma, Ernest Nuamah are in the rotation. We will therefore have to push the walls to make room for the Argentinian nugget. To avoid the headache, we must therefore hope that John Textor has good ideas and anticipates many departures during this winter window. But as is often the case with this Olympique Lyonnais, certainties are rare.
Lyon supporters deprived of the Coupe de France
Related News :