Posted November 28, 2021 at 5.30 p.m. by Th.B. updated November 28, 2021 at 5:35 p.m.
Although his arrival has not been formalized by ASSE, Claude Puel confirmed at a press conference the arrival of Joris Gnagnon who will however have to fight to return to his best level according to the Greens coach.
During the summer transfer window, ASSE was not particularly active in the direction of arrivals. Apart from the arrival of Ignacio Ramirez, the Greens have been rather quiet when other Ligue 1 clubs move in all directions to strengthen their squads as much as possible. Hit by the financial crisis linked to Covid-19, ASSE is not really in a position to make big trades in the transfer market. And as part of the winter transfer window, AS Saint-Étienne may have already got their hands on their first recruit at an unbeatable price. Indeed, while his contract was terminated by Sevilla FC, Joris Gnagnon will return to France after having studied at Stade Rennais and his first steps in the professional world in 2016. After three seasons at Sevilla , Gnagnon will return to Ligue 1 as L’Equipe have reported in recent hours. The defender would have agreed with ASSE on the contours of his contract, and now all that is missing is the formalization of his arrival, when he has already put his foot on French soil. But not on the terms desired by the ASSE.
A contract shorter than expected for Gnagnon
At least that’s what L’Équipe said on Sunday. According to the sports daily, ASSE would have had a precise plan in mind for Joris Gnagnon and that objective would have been to get him to sign an 18-month contract. Nevertheless, the main interested party would have been more than reluctant to face this option, refusing to potentially go down with the Greens at the end of the season, the Stéphanois club being currently the red lantern of Ligue 1. And although nothing has been formalized, < strong> Claude Puel made this operation official in his own way.
Puel formalizes the arrival of 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 lessened by absences given 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 “. confided Claude Puel during his visit to a press conference this Sunday after the defeat of his men against PSG (3-1). It remains to be seen whether Joris Gnagnon will manage to regain its former level in order to help ASSE to remain in the elite of the French football.