Number 99 was on the pitch before the paperwork was
Wednesday morning at La Pincenardiere, a 20-year-old Brazilian in a number 99 shirt jogged out with the rest of the group. Enzo Vagner had not signed anything yet.
He trained anyway. Le Mans will confirm the loan move in the coming hours, tidying up a deal the Brazilian press had already spilled overnight.
Vagner arrives from Coritiba. Both clubs answer to the same owner, Outfield, which is why this one took days rather than weeks to sort out.
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Eight new faces, three days to make them a team
Vagner is signing number eight this summer. The pace has been dizzying.
Djibril Sidibe and Spanish defender Raul Torrente were wrapped up in the last few days alone. Before them: Louis Mafouta, Billal Brahimi, Rayan Bamba, Daouda Traore and Yasser Larouci.
Promoted sides rarely get the luxury of patience. You go up, you look at the fixture list, and suddenly you need eleven bodies capable of surviving Ligue 1 from the opening whistle. The Sarthe club chose volume over one marquee name.
Brest visit on Saturday. Three days.
A cheap bet with an obvious exit
Nobody is pretending Vagner arrives with a glittering CV. He is 20, his football has been played in Brazil’s second tier, and Europe is entirely new to him.
What the deal does have going for it is the price of being wrong. A loan between sister clubs costs almost nothing and buys a full season of evidence. If the kid clicks, Le Mans found a striker for pocket change. If he does not, Coritiba take him back and nobody loses sleep.
Which leaves the question that actually matters on Saturday. Do eight strangers resemble a football team yet?
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