Malick Fofana is on his way to Olympique Lyonnais. La Gantoise will receive a welcome 15 million euros for its prodigy, but is he making the right choice?
“Malick must not jump on the first train that comes along. He will certainly leave, but not right away”: these words are those of Hein Vanhaezebrouck shortly before Christmas. Malick Fofana (18 years old) then had a very good match against OHL. And obviously, the coach of La Gantoise did not suspect that 2024 would not start with the departure (almost recorded) of his winger for Olympique Lyonnais.
For Vanhaezebrouck, this seemed more than advice selfishly dictated by the fear of losing one of his most dangerous players up front. The Buffalos coach believed that Fofana still needed to improve. On a statistical level, in particular (2 goals, 4 assists in 19 JPL matches).
La Gantoise cannot refuse
But if Vanhaezebrouck implied that it was up to Malick Fofana to be “patient” and not jump on the first train that came along, he also knows that La Gantoise itself could not really have refused to pay him the ticket. The club lost 19.2 million euros for the 2023 financial year, and a jackpot of 15 million for a player estimated at half of Transfer market is impossible to ignore.
© photonews
A departure that is a bit reminiscent of that of IBrahim Salah in January 2023, to a lesser extent. Stade Rennais would never have, logically, had to spend 6.5 million for the young Belgian-Moroccan estimated at… 10 times that amount. But Vanhaezebrouck would have done well without this departure, which Ghent welcomed with pleasure.
We of course give Fofana more chances of breaking through in Lyon than Salah in Rennes. But the choice is enough to leave one cautious. OL, if it is a name that weighs very heavily on the French scene, is in trouble. The year 2023 ended quite well (three victories in a row), just well enough for Pierre Sage’s men to float above the red zone, but it was close. In 2024, we are likely to talk about retention rather than European tickets in Malick Fofana’s future club. And given the financial situation of the Rhone residents, we will expect a lot from a transfer worth 15 million, even if he is only 18 years old.
And then, of course, there is Hein Vanhaezebrouck. Deprived of Tissoudali, Hong, Nurio, Torunarigha and Watanabe during the CAN, he will see this young talent leave who he fervently advised to stay a little longer. Ahead, his options diminish. And he will not hesitate to make his way of thinking known to the Ghent management…
2024-01-09 17:40:00
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