Still waiting, I'm starting to think we are ultimately going to make a very mediocre signing 2 days before the season starts.
Lyon were crowned the winners of the Eusebio Cup. So if Dias wants to win trophies, he'll have to play for OL
In all seriousness, Dias was taken off at halftime, so perhaps they let him play to get one more match in a Benfica shirt? Full match here: https://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2018/08/01/benfica-vs-lyon-highlights-full-match/
Ah, well we got a trophy named after Benfica's most legendary player at least, and I'm more than willing to give it back to them if they accept our 30 Million offer.
There's at least one thing to come away with from yesterday - Genesio won OL's first trophy in 6 years
Looks like we've added 15 Million in bonuses to our Dias offer, if so that means he should be ours. Would still like to get a 2nd defender but if we pay 45 Million it's hard to imagine we will spend much more this window unless we sell someone else (still very possible).
Season starts this weekend but still no signing. The negotiations with Benfica are still ongoing, but no major updates the last couple of days. Mina is reportedly having his medical for Everton today (it's the close of the English window I believe) so it seems barring a sudden change it seems that ship is sailing.
Mina's a done deal with Everton. That leaves Dias (at 45m) or a CB alternative. I refuse to believe they'd go into next season without a defensive signing, especially because they kept Fekir. Hands down, OL have the best team in the league besides PSG, and even then, OL could cause an upset if the cards fall right (PSG have a bad spell, Lyon don't lose stupid games, etc). Especially since most of PSG's attention will be on the Champions League, so that does give Lyon an opening, who themselves are just hoping to get past the knockout stages (for the $$$).
That's been a bit of problem for us. We do things like beat PSG then go 6 match skid with no wins. We have the lineup to challenge this season (provided we bring in a good defensive reinforcement).
Just saw the final result, always good to start with a win but I couldn't watch as I was stuck in the happiest place on earth (Laguardia Airport).
PSG will be on their own tier which no one will be catching them. Then on the 2nd tier, you have Monaco, Lyon and Marseille. So things look like pretty clear in Ligue 1, you have PSG which are huge favorite for the title, and then 3 of these 2nd tier teams (Monaco, Lyon, Marseille) will be fighting for the final 2 CL spots. Certainly could feel that Lyon are slight favorite for the 2nd spot this season even without any major reinforcements. Monaco will be weaker this year after selling off Lemar and Fabinho.
Ehh, maybe. Clubs get dethroned eventually. In 2009, Lyon's team outstripped all others despite having a vastly superior lineup and budget. Plus let's not forget that PSG did lose the title two years back, and this past season, they won by just 13 points (as opposed to 30 in 2016). A few unexpected losses from PSG and a string of solid wins for one of the other teams could lead to a shock. In any case, if PSG do win the title this year, I don't expect it to be comfortable. Especially since they'll be focusing on European progression and will need to make a few sacrifices domestically.
Jason Denayer... thoughts? Galatasaray fans of the internet seemed to really like him (though not as extreme as Benfica fans about Dias), but don't know much about him. His valuation isn't very high, so if we get him for say 5 Million or less than maybe a good bit of business for his background. We still need another CB though.
Denayer is official, I think total value is 9 Million. That's more than I would have liked to spend on an unproven player at this level. I suppose pronounced in English that's an apropos name for a defender. Overall, I am not sure what to make of it, Galatasaray fans love him but Sunderland fans hate him (although Sunderland fans probably hate almost everything, nobody ever does well there). I guess for the moment I'm just happy to have some defensive depth, and still hoping that we can land a bigger fish this window.
Maybe I still think a bit small, but I would say it's only peanuts when dealing with an English teams where even Championship sides now regularly pay 10M+ Euros. It's certainly a fee Lyon can comfortably pay without pause, but it would likely be the season's big transfer even for mid-sized Ligue 1 club like Bordeaux. That said, I am optimistic that Denayer is good enough to contribute right away.
Ruben Dias signed an extension with Benfica, so we missed out on both of our main CB targets this summer. A very disappointing summer transfer window.
Lyon have one week left. Not sure who they can bring in at this stage since most clubs won't want to sell this close to the transfer window since they can't replace departing players either. However, either Marcelo or Cornet could go. Doubt it will be both, but likely one. Lyon supposedly have someone in mind to replace whoever leaves, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Considering Mariano is out of favor here that's a great sale on our part. He can certainly score some goals on his day, but his all around play was not considered very good.