Amadou Haïdara secured as Lens plan quiet window and look ahead | OneFootball

Lens have secured Amadou Haïdara and are preparing a restrained winter window, with targeted tweaks rather than major additions.

According to L'Équipe, the Mali midfielder, 27, has completed his medical while at AFCON and will sign to 2029, with confirmation set for the new year. Leipzig agreed a sale worth three million euros including bonuses, with his deal expiring in June.

The club view the move as forward planning and, at this stage, no signing of similar scale is anticipated. With Deiver Machado joining Nantes as a joker for €500,000, a left wing-back could arrive, though academy product Anthony Bermont has covered Matthieu Udol.

Right-sided centre-back is also under review after Jonathan Gradit’s tibia-fibula fracture. Ismaëlo Ganiou, 20, and 17-year-old Kyllian Antonio are options, and any addition would likely be a loan to protect Gradit’s return and homegrown pathways.

Lens are under no pressure to sell after summer exits, with Facundo Medina to OM for €22m, Neil el-Aynaoui to Roma for €25m and Andy Diouf to Inter Milan for €25m, all including bonuses. The door shuts for Risser and Sangaré, but opens for Jhoanner Chávez and Hamzat Ojediran, who has interest from Türkiye and MLS.

Haïdara’s arrival could prompt a loan for 19-year-old Fodé Sylla. Captain Florian Sotoca, 35, courted by Nantes, may sign freely if he wishes, with talks ongoing over Adrien Thomasson, Malang Sarr and Wesley Saïd, all out of contract in June, and none of the three plan to leave this winter.

Source: L'Équipe