Posted on December 2, 2021 at 11:30 am by Arthur Montagne
In the grip of economic problems, and while the sale of the club seems to be delayed, ASSE should however be active during the winter transfer window. If Claude Puel hopes for three reinforcements, the Greens will have to be smart on the market. But several leads are already emerging.
Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo have long hoped to be able to complete the sale of the AS Saint -Etienne before December 31 to allow new owners to take advantage of the winter transfer window to set up their project. However, the two shareholders refused the offers of Jean-Michel Roussier and Olivier Markarian , while three projects are still in the pipeline, but the sales process will probably still be a bit long. Consequently, ASSE will have to strengthen itself with its own current means which are quite limited. And yet, it is imperative for the Greens to recruit this winter in order to remain competitive in the race for maintenance, and above all to compensate for the departure from the CAN of several players and not the least. Denis Bouanga (Gabon), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Saïdou Sow (Guinea), Harold Moukoudi and Yvan Neyou (Cameroon), or even Madhi Camara , courted by Gambia and Zaydou Youssouf , by the Comoros, are expected to participate in the tournament which will take place from January 9 to February 6. From this perspective, Claude Puel, who would like to see three reinforcements landed, remains aware of the situation: “You know the deal. It is not fluctuating. If we can be active, it will be in the form of loans. If the DNCG gave us something positive, it rewards the good control of all the components of the club who work to clean up the accounts and have a virtuous project for ASSE. It is not a reward. It just means that she follows with a benevolent eye what one sets out to do. “
Despite its economic problems, ASSE will strengthen
L ' ASSE will therefore have to turn to the market for free players as well as that of free loans by scrutinizing the workforce of the big European clubs for players whose playing time is not very important. And it will be necessary to do better than this summer since only Ignacio Ramirez landed, in the form of a loan, in the last seconds of the transfer window. But Claude Puel seems already well started. Indeed, the manager of ASSE confirmed in recent days at a press conference the free arrival of Joris Gnagnon: “Joris (editor's note Gnagnon) comes to have playing time, to bring us his quality of defender and especially in a period where we will surely be diminished by absences in view of the CAN. Until then, he needs to rebuild his physique and gradually become competitive again. There you go, it's good to have him there, even though he's been having trouble. He was quite impacted for months by the Covid and therefore it had a great impact on him and he will have to go very gradually with him. “Without a club since the termination of his contract with Sevilla FC in September, Joris Gnagnon comes in particular to compensate for the departure to CAN of Harold Moukoudi .
But that's not all. The offensive sector is also the priority of Claude Puel for this winter. And for good reason, between the injury of Romain Hamouma , the departure of Wahbi Khazri from the CAN as well as the doubts about the level of Ignacio Ramirez , the ASSE will seek to recruit an attacker. According to information from the Sun, confirmed by Football-London, the Greens would thus try to attract Folarin Bolagun in the form of a loan. Little used at Arsenal where he is blocked by competition from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette , the young 20-year-old striker shines in Premier League 2, the reserve championship of English clubs. With 14 goals in 10 days, Bolagun panics the counters and wants to be loaned during the second part of the season in order to have significant playing time. An opportunity that ASSE wants to seize, but it will have to do with competition from Middlesbrough , Millwall and Swansea . Anyway, the Greens will be active during the month of January, and it will be necessary to act quickly since the CAN will begin on January 9.