On January 4, to face PSG in a historic derby, there will perhaps already be a recruit in the Paris FC group. With the transfer window starting on January 1, you will have to act quickly to qualify. But on the side of the staff, sports management and managers, we have been working in this direction for several weeks already.
The Christmas holidays promise to be short and lively with telephone exchanges. The resumption of training is set for Monday December 29.
“It’s part of our job,” recognizes Stéphane Gilli. Afterwards, the transfer window will not start there, we have already started working in advance for a while with our leaders. We will finalize all of this. »
The CAN for which five players are concerned (Kebbal, Chergui, Simon, Krasso, Traoré) will impact the two derbies against PSG, in Ligue 1 and in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France the following week, and perhaps the trip to Nantes on January 18 in the event of a selection in the last four. But beyond that, Paris FC has the obligation to strengthen itself given its ranking in the Championship (14th with 4 points ahead of Auxerre, 16th and play-off).
The staff and management understood that with this group which showed its limits, maintaining “quiet”, the objective at the start of the season, risked transforming into an indecisive struggle until the month of May.
Loans with purchase option are being studied
The latest performances, quite worrying in terms of form, have also contributed to revising the initial plans upwards. Forgotten the three players initially targeted, we should see at least five arrive at the Orly training center. Paris FC will therefore undoubtedly be the Ligue 1 club which will be the most active in January, to strengthen itself but also to correct the failures or non-appearances of the summer transfer window.
The two positions that had not been filled are those of center forward and midfielder with an athletic profile. These will still be the priorities, especially the striker, a position in which Willem Geubbels and Jean-Philippe Krasso (2 goals each) disappointed. But all gaming sectors are under consideration. A side attacker should also arrive to give more competition to Moses Simon and Jonathan Ikoné, even if his hat-trick scored on Saturday at Raon-l’Étape shows that he is on the right track.
Paris FC could also recruit two midfielders. In defense, he is considering the positions of right back and central defender. A competitor to Hamari Traoré on the right could thus arrive. The difficulties of the Brazilian Otavio could also push the leaders to recruit an additional central defender. But the club also does not want to condemn the recruits who arrived this summer and wishes to improve their support.
In recent days, the scouting meetings around sports director Marco Neppe and his deputy Quentin Rauzier have intensified. Paris FC casts a very wide net and explores all markets (L1, Europe, including the North). Shareholders are ready to invest in transfers in the event of good opportunities. But the sports management also scrutinizes the squads of clubs, including major European teams, to find players who are already listed, but who have had less playing time lately. In this case, the loan formula with purchase option would be preferred. We are moving towards a mix between purchases and loans.
The club inquired about Arnaud Kalimuendo
In terms of offensive tracks, Lucas Stassin, who absolutely wants to leave Saint-Étienne, is still in the sights. But it is difficult to see Saint-Étienne, which had asked Paris FC for 42 million (35 + 7 bonus) on September 1, revising its claims downwards.
Although the names of Martin Terrier and Elye Wahi have also been circulated, according to our information, there has been no approach at this stage with the two players. The Parisian club, on the other hand, was well informed about the situation of Arnaud Kalimuendo who did not play much with Nottingham Forest.
Paris FC will also downsize by releasing or loaning certain players whose playing time risks decreasing and to prevent the squad from becoming bloated. Lohann Doucet will be loaned as well as Lamine Gueye, who returned to Raon-l’Etape on Saturday after more than two years of absence, or Mathieu Cafaro, little used.
