Ligue 1 side reject opportunity to sign Manchester City defender in multi-million pound loan deal | OneFootball

RC Lens were reportedly prevented by financials demanded by Manchester City when it came to their interest in re-signing Juma Bah on a second successive loan agreement.

The Sierra Leone international came into the ongoing summer transfer window with his future in doubt despite his excellent performances on loan with the aforementioned French side over the second-half of last season.

Lens were entrusted with the next phase of Bah’s development after Manchester City moved swiftly to recruit the teenager from La Liga outfit Real Valladolid, with Pep Guardiola’s defensive ranks stacked after transfer business elsewhere in the same window.

With the current view from within the Etihad Stadium being that Juma Bah is likely still another season away from being suited and ready for the first-team set-up, a new loan move has been finalised.

However, that deal will not see the player return to familiar surroundings by re-joining Lens for the forthcoming 2025/26 campaign, with the finances of a possible deal preventing anything from developing.

That is according to the information of La Voix du Nord, as translated and relayed by Get French Football News, who reveal that RC Lens hoped to convince City that Juma Bah’s development was best suited back with them for a full season.

However, it is claimed they could not match the Etihad Stadium club’s financial demands for a deal, with Hugo Viana and co requesting a loan fee of €2 million, despite the player having no chance of joining Lens on a permanent deal come the end of the forthcoming campaign.

Aside from Lens, Juma Bah was at the centre of transfer interest from clubs in England and elsewhere in France, with media reports indicating Championship duo Southampton and Ipswich Town as potential interested parties.

It is a return to France that was long deemed most likely, with Olympique Lyonnais and OGC Nice regarded as the two most serious suitors, and the latter coming out on top as they chase a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League league phase.

The current understanding however is that Lyon’s financial difficulties, that have ultimately ended in relegation to Ligue 2 by French football authorities, had no impact on Juma Bah’s thinking over his next move.