Who are Eagle Football's most highly rated players to save OL?

A week after the publication of a worrying press release on the sustainability of the project carried by Eagle Football Group, the DNCG made a decision. Yesterday evening, a few hours after the OL hearing in Paris, the control body announced the precautionary demotion of the club at the end of the season, coupled with a ban on recruitment and supervision of the payroll. This radical measure therefore echoes the alarming figures on the financial situation of OL, which today suffers from a debt of €500.5 million.

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If John Textor appeared rather calm during his last public appearances, his arguments were not sufficiently convincing to the financial policeman of French football. OL, and by extension Eagle Football Group, also owner of Botafogo and Molenbeek, therefore find themselves obliged to sell assets – players in this case – even if we had not waited for the ax last night to find out. At the same time, the sale of Crystal Palace shares is still impatiently awaited by Lyon supporters, and the English press recently reported an offer worth 273 million euros for Textor. But for the moment, still nothing has been done, and we must therefore cast a wide net in the hope of player sales in the coming months.

Beautiful people at OL

When analyzing the Lyon squad at the start of the season, eyes are naturally turned to Rayan Cherki, back in the forefront after being put on the shelf this summer for contractual reasons (he has since extended, which should encourage a big sale for Lyon). Although he is now in his 6th professional season, the promising French international nonetheless remains a promising player, and his margin for progress remains difficult to quantify. Already tracked by PSG and Liverpool in recent months, the player born in 2003 is now estimated at 20 million euros by the specialist site Transfer marketand we imagine that the price of a transfer in the coming months could increase further. It remains to be seen whether OL will wish to sell him. Same story for the other Lyon attraction since August: Malick Fofana. Even younger than Cherki since he was born in 2005, the 19-year-old winger has shown off his stripes as an international player with Belgium in recent weeks, and by domino effect, seen his market value increase. Arriving for 17 million euros a year ago, the native of Aalst would certainly be worth at least double that in the Premier League, given the current situation.

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There also remain the second knives, like Maxence Caqueret, who has seen his status weaken in recent weeks, but who nonetheless remains a sought-after player. This summer, clubs of the caliber of Leverkusen had taken the temperature with a view to a potential transfer. Today, the former captain of the Bleuets is estimated between 15 and 20 million euros, just like Ernest Nuamah (he officially cost OL 28 million euros), losing momentum this season but whose unbalancing profile is very popular in the Premier League, like his compatriot Sulemana at the time. This summer, the Ghanaian was also on the verge of joining Fulham. What about Saïd Benrahma? Arriving last winter, the Algerian is still struggling to regain his heights of recent seasons in England, but he remains a rated player. At a lower price, OL could also try to sell Saël Kumbedi, still promising, but considered too green to be a starter in the eyes of Pierre Sage. This summer, we informed you of the interest of several Ligue 1 clubs in the former Le Havre. We imagine that OL will also try to offload Anthony Lopes and his XXL salary.

Botafogo, the back door

As previously indicated, cleaning up OL's finances could also involve the sale of assets in other clubs in the Eagle galaxy. We don't really think of Molenbeek, now a resident of the Belgian second division, but rather of Botafogo, which has been riding a wave of happiness for several months, at least sportingly (the club is playing for the title in the league and in the Copa Libertadores) . In recent days, the newspaper The Team precisely mentioned the possibility of seeing Igor Jesus leave the Carioca club. Having become a Brazilian international in recent weeks, the number 9 of Alvinegro has seen his popularity soar, particularly in Europe. The Brazilian press reported an offer from West Ham for this winter, already in excess of 20 million euros.

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Behind him, Botafogo could also generate juicy capital gains on possible transfers of Luiz Henrique and Thiago Almada, the Brazilian and Argentinian internationals who are a hit this season. If they have each been mentioned on the OL side in recent months, but to a lesser extent (Textor had confirmed the arrival of the second in Lyon this winter), the club could review its copy to avoid a disguised transfer between clubs from the same galaxy, certainly less profitable from a financial point of view for Eagle Football. It will also be necessary to take into account the choice of the two players, who seemed closer to staying than to leaving recently. Transfermarkt estimates the market value of the Brazilian at 16 million euros, and that of the second at almost 30.