Lucas Gourna-Douath joins Le Havre on loan after Valencia and Rangers interest | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Le Havre have completed a straight loan for Lucas Gourna-Douath from Salzburg, with Valencia and Glasgow Rangers interested. The move was made official on Friday evening. He follows Sofiane Boufal, free, and Timothée Pembélé, loaned from Sunderland.

The 22-year-old Under-21 international joined Salzburg in 2022 for €15m. He spent last season on loan at Roma, has 20 Champions League appearances and close to 200 senior games. A defensive midfielder, he can play as a single pivot or in a double pivot.

His first half of the campaign was hampered by injuries, limiting him to five matches. He wanted minutes in the run-in and held talks with Valencia coach Carlos Corberan in recent days. He was taking time to find the best place to build that rhythm.

Valencia also needed to shed players in that area before signing him. Le Havre stepped in within days, amid an approach from Glasgow Rangers, offering significant game time to aid their survival push. Didier Digard cited last winter’s successes, Ahmed Hassan and Junior Mwanga, and drew on his long-standing knowledge from ASSE and Champions League scouting.

Despite renewed Valencia interest on Friday morning, returning to Ligue 1, where he made 61 appearances for Saint-Étienne between 2020 and 2022, weighed in his decision. Le Havre sit 13th on 18 points and are considering adding an attacking player.

Source: L'Équipe