The door is still open
The French transfer window shut on Tuesday night. The Saudi Pro League’s did not. Clubs in Saudi Arabia can still sign players until Sunday night.
Marseille are hoping to take advantage. According to Fabrizio Romano, Al-Ettifaq have opened initial talks for Derek Cornelius. The Dammam club, coached by Arthur Papas, are pushing ahead with the deal.
The 28-year-old Canada centre-back stayed in Marseille after a move to Rayo Vallecano collapsed on Tuesday. He looked set to stay. That has now changed.
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A one-way summer for Marseille
OM have not signed a single player this summer. Not one. Instead, the club have sold players for 90 M€, excluding bonuses and buyout clauses.
The list of departures is staggering. Mason Greenwood to Fenerbahce, Facundo Medina to Bayer Leverkusen, Quinten Timber to Crystal Palace, Geronimo Rulli to Manchester City, Hamed Traore to Genoa, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Deportivo La Coruna, Leonardo Balerdi to AS Roma and Bilal Nadir to Hamburg.
One more exit would stretch the footballing damage even further. It would, however, trim the wage bill at a club forced to sell to keep the books in order.
Cornelius never really made it at Marseille
The Canada defender arrived from Malmo in the summer of 2024. Two years later, he has made 26 appearances in Marseille colours. That’s a modest return for a centre-back brought in to provide competition.
Last season, he was loaned to Rangers. This term, his involvement has amounted to seven minutes against Strasbourg on the opening weekend.
Cornelius does, though, bring a solid international record. He played for Canada in the last World Cup round of 16. In Saudi Arabia, he’d be back to a starting role and a far bigger pay packet. For Marseille, this looks like a clean exit more than anything else.
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