France is shut. Lille are not finished.
The French window closed last night. Half of Europe’s did not, and Olivier Letang intends to use every hour of what is left. Presenting the club’s new arrivals to the media on Wednesday, the Lille president made no attempt to pretend the squad was final.
“Four players could still move, like Mohamed Bayo on a permanent transfer. Tiago Morais is in talks with a number of clubs. Angel Yondjo could also be on the move this week,” he said.
Try it for $0.99.
What happens when a position gets crowded
The fourth name came wrapped in diplomacy. “Arnaud Bodart, a very good guy, has a place and a relationship with a number of players,” Letang offered. Translated out of football-speak: since Orlando Gill signed, the Belgian is third choice.
Bodart came through Standard Liege and arrived at Lille expecting to compete for the gloves. Third in a goalkeeping pecking order is not competition, it is a season on the bench watching. Clubs still able to trade will have worked that out already.
Selling high is the whole model here
None of this is improvised. Letang’s Lille have run the same operation for years: sell at the top of the market, reinvest below it, keep tinkering until the very last window shuts. Matias Fernandez-Pardo alone brought in 65 million euros this summer.
Timing is the awkward part. Anyone sold in September cannot be replaced from within France. Trimming the wage bill is one thing; doing it without hollowing out a squad two rounds into the season is another.
Discover the rest of the football news on our site and app at mathodds!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply