French Ligue 1
LILE PUT £72m PRICE TAG ON VICTOR OSIMHEN
Nigeria’s potent hit man, Victor Osimhen is the latest commodity in the European football transfer market as Lille owner, Gerard Lopez has put a minimum £72 million price tag on him.
According to Daily Mail and quoting the club owner, it must be nothing except something in the same valuation of what Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe last summer to land him.
Interestingly, 2019 Africa Cup of Nations’ bronze medal winner with Super Eagles of Nigeria last summer in Egypt was the direct replacement of Pepe before he left for England.
The 21-year-old Osimhen, who is described by club staff as the ‘Rubix’s cube’ of the side because he is so difficult to figure out on the pitch, has been the best in the team this season scoring 18 goals in his debut campaign in Ligue 1 after joining from Belgian Pro League side, Sporting Charleroi.
It was gathered that teams like Tottenham and Arsenal are rivalling Liverpool just as the El Classico giants, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid had indicated interest in the former Golden Eaglet star player.
Lopez said he’s been inundated with offers for his prized asset but he will not be forced to cash in on a cut-price deal amid the coronavirus crisis.
“There are multiple offers,’ he told Sportsmail. “We turned down one English and one Spanish offer this January transfer window.
“There is a wide array (this summer) and I wouldn’t want to give the names of the clubs who are bidding but what I can tell you is that there are multiple (offers). There are three championships that have clubs that have bid for him.’
It will be recalled that Osimhen joined the club for a five-year deal for a fee around £10m last summer and the club are now looking at the possibility of making a huge profit 12 months on if he does leave for England, Spain or Italy.
“I am not being a sales guy because last year people didn’t believe that we had the offers we had with (Nicolas) Pepe and it turns out we had multiple of them.
“Let me tell you with Osimhen, it is the same thing, whatever number you heard, the high number I have read is very much on the money of the offers that we have received. That’s where we are,” he pointed out.
Pepe was the major exit last summer joining Unai Emery’s Arsenal for a club-record fee— a move the Spanish boss recently revealed he was not behind – and that opened the spot for Osimhen to spearhead the attack.
His £72m sale to Arsenal was key in them raising £128m from player sales last summer. In the last three years, the club have made £219m from players, spending £149m on incomings.
Lopez revealed it is not just Osimhen that has clubs jockeying to earn his signature right now. The club’s production line, which has seen Eden Hazard, Yohan Cabaye, Franck Ribery and Divock Origi come through, is also demanding sizeable fees for players.
“If we were to activate for every single player we have received an offer for, I am going through my mind right now, we would sell nine players out of the starting XI, a further six players that are usually non-starters and a further two players from the youth team,’ Lopez, who has spent the pandemic creating PPE kit StoBox, explained.
“So, if I was to take offers from everyone else, I would be selling 17 players this summer. It would be absolutely nuts.’
French Ligue 1
Moses Simon hits Ligue 1 Milestone
After reaching a significant career milestone, Super Eagles winger and Nantes star, Moses Simon, was recognised by French Ligue 1 on Tuesday.
A pillar in the Nigeria Super Eagles side that finished second in last February’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, Simon is regarded as one of the most decisive Nigerian players in the French top division. He reached a milestone of 150 matches in the French Ligue 1 during Nantes’ 1-1 draw with Angers SCO at the weekend.
The Ligue 1 official Twitter account marked the occasion, celebrating Simon’s contributions with a post stating, “Indispensable Moses Simon.”
In his 150 appearances, the 29-year-old winger racked up 27 goals and 29 assists, showcasing his vital role in his team’s success.
Simon’s achievement places him fifth among Nigerian players with the most Ligue 1 appearances, trailing only John Utaka (239 games), Wilson Oruma (196), Taye Taiwo (191), and Victor Ikpeba (170).
Further cementing his legacy, Simon’s assist during the Angers match made him the most decisive player for Nantes since their promotion to Ligue 1 in 2013.
His pinpoint pass to Johann Lepenant in the 18th minute gave Nantes an early lead before Angers’ Himad Abdelli equalised later on.
With this assist, Simon broke the previous club record held by the late Emiliano Sala, becoming Nantes’ top contributor with 29 assists in Ligue 1.
This season, the Super Eagles forward has continued his form, recording two goals and two assists in just five games.
Simon was named Nantes’ Player of the Month for August.
Simon, who joined Nantes from Levante in August 2019, helped the Yellow Canaries lift the Coupe de France in 2022. It was the third trophy of his career, having won the Belgian Pro League and the Super Cup with Gent in 2015.
French Ligue 1
Sacked former Cote d’ivoire coach, Gasset announces retirement as Marseille manager
Jean-Louis Gasset who was sacked by Cote d’Ivoire after the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations last January has announced his retirement as a coach of Olympique de Marseille.
He will take charge of his last game on Sunday before retiring from management, the 70-year-old said on Friday.
Gasset was appointed as interim manager by the Ligue 1 club in February after the sacking of Gennaro Gattuso, and Marseille are eight in the standings going into their final Ligue 1 game of the season at Le Havre.
“Sunday will be the last match of my career,” Gasset told a press conference.
“That I stay in football, that my experience, my ideas and my networks are used is a possibility. I don’t know how to garden, I won’t have anything to do. But as a coach, it’s over.”
The Frenchman’s previous job was with Ivory Coast from which he was sacked after the team’s poor performances in the Africa Cup of Nations group stage. They scraped through as the last lucky losers before going on to win the tournament on home soil.
-Reuters
French Ligue 1
Departing Mbappe backs good friend Dembele to become Ligue 1’s best
Kylian Mbappe has backed winger Ousmane Dembele to be a success at Paris St Germain and fill his boots after he exits the club, as he won his fifth successive Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
France captain Mbappe, 25, last week announced that he will leave the French champions at the end of the season after a seven-year stay, during which he became their all-time top scorer with 256 goals.
Mbappe’s frustration lies with PSG’s performances in the Champions League, a trophy they have never lifted despite huge investment in the squad. He has been heavily linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are in the final this year seeking a 15th European crown.
His 26-year-old compatriot Dembele joined the Parisian club, who have won 10 of the last 12 Ligue 1 titles, from LaLiga side Barcelona in August last year, signing a five-year deal.
“I have shared and played with incredible players, like Dembele who is here, he is a friend and one day he will pick up this award,” Mbappe said on Monday at the award ceremony.
“I thank the club as a whole, the coach, who has helped me and trusted me, his staff, the doctors, all the people at the club, the sporting management, the president, the shareholders of the club, of course, the Emir of Qatar who came to find me at the age of 18, who has accompanied me in all my decisions…”
He said his next chapter is going to be very exciting but did not reveal any further details.
“Now I’m turning the page in my life. Everything that comes next is super exciting, but that’s another subject,” Mbappe said.
“Thank you all, I’m going to miss you. I have always tried to do my best, and I also want to thank my family, who have always been with me in good times and bad.
“My father, who is here, I know that it was very important to him that I made history in Ligue 1 before I left and I think that with humility I have done everything you wanted.”
-Reuters
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