In just over 48 hours, Friday evening at 11pm, the summer transfer window will close, with Ligue 1 clubs in particular being unable to recruit – except for players who are free of any contract. For OM, the work is still far from being completed since several movements remain current, in terms of departures as well as arrivals.
Concretely, Pablo Longoria and his teams are still targeting two reinforcements deemed crucial: a complementary striker to compensate for the injury of Faris Moumbagna, out for a good part of the season, and thus support Elye Wahi, the only center forward in the squad at the moment. But also a full-back or right piston likely to compete with Amir Murillo.
The two priorities at the moment have taken the form of Neal Maupay (Everton) and Kiliann Sildillia (Fribourg), two players who already have an agreement in principle with the Marseille board but who are far from being released by their respective clubs. And for good reason, the loan option for this duo does not hold, and OM must sell at all costs to allow themselves to frankly attack these two files.
Sanabria as plan B
A deal already seems to exist between the Marseille club and Lazio for the transfer of Samuel Gigot, if the latter finds common ground with the Roman team. It is more complicated, however, for the cases of Jordan Veretout and Chancel Mbemba, both valued at 8 million euros by the Olympique staff and with prohibitive salaries for many suitors.
Inevitably, there are Plan Bs, particularly regarding the imperative recruitment of a second striker, if OM fails to trim its squad within 48 hours. Two alternatives are being put forward behind the scenes, including the option of Antonio Sanabria, the Paraguayan from Torino who has shone above all at Betis Seville in his career. Over the last ten seasons, since his brief appearance at Roma, the player trained at Barça has accumulated 235 matches and scored 62 goals.
