Lyon rule out January departure for Malick Fofana | OneFootball

Olympique Lyonnais are currently without one of their key players, Malick Fofana (20). The Belgian sustained a severe ankle sprain during the win over RC Strasbourg Alsace at the end of October and is expected to be out for around three months. 

A return in January is envisaged. His return could coincide with the transfer window, however, Lyon have asserted that they will not be selling the highly-rated Belgian during the January window. 

“The sale of Fofana has never been on the table for January,” OL CEO Michael Gerlinger told Ligue 1 Plus. However, Gerlinger did add that, financially, “things aren’t going super well”. As a result, he said that there could be sales in January. “We’ll see what we can do,” said Lyon’s CEO.

However, he then reasserted that Fofana was not one of the players available. OL are in a tough financial situation and were only reinstated in Ligue 1, following administrative relegation, on appeal. Promises made to the DNCG and UEFA forced them into selling several key players over the summer, including Rayan Cherki, and then Georges Mikautadze on deadline day. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle