Lyon want the player Marseille gave up on after six months
Sky Sports put the name out on Sunday. Olympique Lyonnais have asked about Matt O’Riley, and they are not alone. The Brighton midfielder looks set to move before the window shuts, with clubs in several of Europe’s biggest leagues sniffing around. Nothing signed. Nothing close. Lyon still want it done quickly.
What makes the story land differently in France is the Marseille chapter attached to it. O’Riley spent last season on loan at OM: 25 appearances, one goal, six assists. Marseille pulled the plug at the halfway point and sent him back to the Premier League in January.
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Left out of Brighton’s opener, and not by accident
England did not fix things either. Illness wrecked his pre-season, so he missed most of the work Fabian Huerzeler put the squad through over the summer. He is fit now. He was still left out of the matchday squad against Aston Villa on the opening weekend, and Sky Sports connect that omission directly to the conversations about where he plays next.
Brighton, in other words, are not standing in his way. For a club shopping late with limited money, that detail matters more than any transfer fee rumour.
Thirty million euros ago, he was the best midfielder in Scotland
The version of O’Riley that Lyon are betting on played at Celtic between 2022 and 2024. Goals from midfield, assists in bunches, the most coveted player in the Scottish game. Brighton spent close to 30 million euros to sign him in the summer of 2024. Denmark capped him six times.
Lyon are chasing that player, not the one who drifted through the Velodrome. The logic underneath is simple enough. His value has fallen, his minutes have dried up, and a Ligue 1 club that had no chance of signing him two years ago suddenly has a seat at the table.
Two obstacles remain, and neither is small. Brighton have to agree to lose him. Then O’Riley has to want France again, after the last attempt ended with him packing his bags in midwinter.
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