Saint-Étienne’s Lucas Stassin open to potential Saudi Arabia move | OneFootball

Denied a move by Saint-Étienne in the summer transfer window, Lucas Stassin (20) revealed in an interview with La Dernière Heure that he was open to a potential transfer to Saudi Arabia as he looked to move to a higher level than the French second division. The 20-year-old had a successful season for Les Verts after the Rhône club broke their transfer record to secure his services.

However, despite his 12 goals in Ligue 1 last term, it wasn’t enough to keep ASSE in the top flight. After Stassin’s breakout season in France, he attracted the interest of other Ligue 1 clubs, including Paris FC and Stade Rennais. When asked about the interest in his services, Stassin said, “Rennes came, there were several other clubs interested. Then, at the very end of the transfer window, it was Paris FC, and it became quite concrete. But the negotiations unfortunately didn’t come to fruition.”

With a move within France failing to materialise due to Saint-Étienne’s large asking price, the Belgian forward considered moving abroad after the transfer window closed. Saudi Arabia and Turkey presented potential options due to their transfer windows closing later than most of Europe. Asked whether he considered a move to the Saudi Pro League, Stassin said, “Saudi Arabia? That could have interested me because I don’t think the level there is lower than Ligue 2. On the contrary, there are more and more great players, and it’s become a championship with some big teams.” The Belgian international revealed he received an offer from Al-Hilal, but this was rejected by ASSE.

GFFN | Liam Wraith