Posted December 10, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. by GdSS
With the winter transfer window fast approaching, OM are making no secret of their desire to bring in reinforcements during this period. And after Pablo Longoria, it's Jorge Sampaoli's turn to speak out on recruitment while emphasizing the financial aspect … a message for Frank McCourt?
After having considerably strengthened during the summer of 2021 with no less than eleven new recruits made official during this period, the OM intends to continue its momentum! Overturned in the Europa League Conference following his victory against Lokomotiv Moscow Thursday night at the Vélodrome (1-0), the Marseille club will therefore need a competitive team to perform well there and continue to show strong ambitions in Ligue 1 for the rest of the season. This is why Pablo Longoria and Jorge Sampaoli, respectively president and coach of OM , spoke about the mercato .
“I must find economic resources”
Asked at the beginning of the week in the columns of L'Equipe, Longoria showed his desire to be active during the transfer window winter, but emphasizes the financial puzzle: “By January, I have to find economic resources to improve the workforce, with the assets I have on the team. It can mean selling players and using the money wisely. The sale of a player can make a team stronger and ultimately erase its handicaps. I consider that a lot has already been improved last summer, but there is still work to be done. The team are young, they can lack leadership in different positions in some important matches. We took a general strategic turn to rejuvenate the squad, the average age of the team has dropped dramatically. But you can't have the same high standards for a very young squad. I am the first to be aware of it (…) We have a very clear strategy, a squad of 21 versatile players. Instead, we've been looking for different profiles over the past few months in this winter transfer window. In the event of the exit of different players, we want to have spare possibilities, ”assures the president of OM , who is therefore no doubt hoping for a little help from Frank McCourt , the owner of the Marseille club, to help him recruit.
“We talk about it every day”
Same story this Friday at a press conference for Jorge Sampaoli, coach of OM : “We must be up to this transfer window. I speak every day with the president to find out how we can improve the workforce, identify needs, while taking into account our means to act on the market. We have a more coherent diagnosis of our shortcomings today, but we have to see with what budget we can strengthen ourselves. We know that we need players who come to bring something more. There are these discussions on a daily basis with the leaders at the club ”. So the message got through to Frank McCourt …