Seko Fofana back in L1, Dani Olmo is no longer registered with Barça, Jeffinho leaves Lyon, stars free to commit wherever they wish: find all the news and rumors of Football transfers for this Wednesday January 1, 2025.
Seko Fofana returns to Ligue 1 and signs for Rennes
Ivorian international midfielder Seko Fofana (29) has signed a four and a half year contract for Rennes, the Breton club announced on Wednesday, for a sum estimated by the press at 20 million euros. “Seko Fofana, the experienced 29-year-old Ivorian international midfielder, signed this Wednesday, January 1 for a period of four and a half seasons with Stade Rennais FC”the club said in a press release. The central midfielder (22 caps) chose to try the adventure in Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023 after three seasons at Lens, which he helped lead to the Champions League. But in 18 months in the Saudi League Fofana has never really found his place on the pitch, whether at Al-Nassr, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, or at Al-Etiffaq, where he was loaned in 2024. Rennes needing impact, technical quality and character in midfield, he quickly positioned himself on this profile, also taking advantage of the link between the player and Arnaud Pouille, executive president of Rennes, who rubbed shoulders with Lens.
Dani Olmo is no longer registered in La Liga
The date of January 1 means that the contract of Barça player Dani Olmo has come to an end and that he has been deregistered by La Liga from the Barça squad. The Catalan club, which has been experiencing major financial problems for several years, had benefited from a precautionary measure to register its new attacking midfielder for the first part of the season. The deadline having now passed, the club will therefore have to find another solution if it wants to be able to play its player. If he cannot play in La Liga this year, a loan will be considered. Club striker Pau Victor is in the same situation. In any case, this situation does not seem to worry Dani Olmo, who published an Instagram post last night with the caption «It’s 2025 time». Conversely, Danish defender Andreas Christensen, injured during the first part of the season, returned to the Barça squad available to play in La Liga.
Salah, Modric, De Bruyne… These players are free to play wherever they want
From today, players whose contract ends on June 30 can negotiate with another club for next season. The best known players to be in this situation are Mohamed Salah, Luka Modric, Joshua Kimmich, Virgil van Dijk, Kevin de Bruyne, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alexandre Lacazette. Some of them are close to extending with their club while others are in the sights of big European clubs and others may be interested in a new challenge in a more exotic country. Some transfers could be completed during this winter transfer window, before the end of their contract.
-Jeffinho (OL) signs for Botafogo
This is one of the first transfers of this winter transfer window. Olympique Lyonnais announced Tuesday evening the transfer of its Brazilian striker Jeffinho to Botafogo, where he had been on loan since January 2024 for one year. The transfer amount is 5.3 million euros. A 30% interest on a possible future transfer is also provided for in the transaction. As a reminder, Botafogo and OL are owned, like the Belgian club Molenbeek, by the Eagle Football Group, whose director is John Textor. The 25-year-old was first transferred from Botafogo to OL in January 2023 for ten million euros. His contract with Lyon then ran until June 30, 2027. Jeffinho will not leave a great memory in the Rhône. He only played 19 Ligue 1 matches for two goals and three assists as well as two Coupe de France matches (1 goal).
Galatasaray vs Skriniar
Turkish club Galatasaray have approached Paris Saint-Germain about Slovak defender Milan Skriniar, according to Fabrizio Romano. The latter hardly plays any more with the capital club, could leave Paris this winter. Galatasaray would consider a loan this winter.
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