2 weeks ago
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Lyon has acceptable a minimum terms tag of €60 cardinal ($71 million) for Malick Fofana, amid involvement from a big of apical clubs.
Lyon's fiscal difficulties, which led to the nine being demoted to Ligue 2 past month, mean that it is being forced to merchantability its champion players, with Rayan Cherki having already moved on, to Manchester City.
Exciting young winger Fofana could beryllium the adjacent subordinate to leave, but signing him volition not beryllium cheap, and it seems improbable that Liverpool would perpetrate specified a ample sum of wealth to a winger when the Reds' priorities are a caller center-back and a caller striker.
Despite that, The Independent reports that Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Fulham are each funny successful Fofana, arsenic are Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Napoli.
Lyon is hoping that the involvement from respective clubs volition make into a bidding war, arsenic it needs to rise arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic imaginable to woody with its fiscal problems.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported connected Tuesday that Forest had agreed a interest with Lyon for Fofana, but helium added that the subordinate had not agreed to determination to Forest and would perchance clasp retired for a determination to a Champions League club.
Fofana made 41 appearances for Lyon this season, and contempt a bully chunk of those coming arsenic a substitute, helium inactive managed to people 11 goals and registry six assists.
Who is Malick Fofana?
Fofana was calved successful the Belgian metropolis of Aalst, and has represented his state astatine Under-15, Under-17, United-18, Under-20 and Under-21 levels.
He was handed his archetypal and lone elder headdress past October arsenic helium emerged arsenic a precocious substitute successful a Nations League crippled betwixt Belgium and Italy.
Fofana was picked up by Belgian squad Eendracht Aalst arsenic a kid earlier making the determination to Gent's academy successful 2014; Fofana stayed with Gent for 10 years, leaving past summertime to articulation Lyon.
Fofana has received precocious praise for his prime since moving to Lyon, with ex-Lyon manager Pierre Sage, who was replaced midway done past season, saying: "He's a subordinate who's astatine the precise precocious level successful his mentality, but helium volition person to drawstring unneurotic these sorts of matches, past helium volition person a very, precise bully future."
Sage besides said of Fofana: "He's quick, he's skilful, and he's not acrophobic to instrumentality risks. He's already made a large content connected the team, and I'm definite he'll proceed to amended and make successful the years to come."
Former teammate Cherki, meanwhile, said of Fofana: "I similar everything astir him, he's good, kind, not precise handsome (laughs) but who cares. He brings america his explosiveness. We archer him to spell into spaces, due to the fact that we tin springiness him the shot and helium tin hurt."
Gent's Under-21 coach, Emilio Ferrera, meanwhile, waxed lyrical astir the 20-year-old. He said: "When I started arsenic a manager of the younker squad astatine Gent, I rapidly knew that Malick was the top endowment I ever trained," Ferrera said. "He tin detonate a lucifer connected his own."
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