Auxerre approaches the summer with confidence after having crossed the DNCG examination without incident, thus validating its project and the stability of its accounts for the coming season. But on the transfer market, everything can go very quickly. Because a proposal from Olympique de Marseille is suddenly rebuilt the cards of the Burgundian transfer window, raising a strategic question: should we sacrifice an offensive pillar to secure a welcome windfall?
The player concerned is none other than Lassine Sinayoko. The Malian striker, still under contract until 2026, was the subject of a concrete offer of around 5 million euros submitted by OM. This figure, below its real value estimated between 8 and 10 M €, did not leave the management insensitive, especially as other clubs – Lille and Nottingham Forest in particular – monitor the file closely. Sinayoko is 8 assists (7th in Ligue 1) and 5 goals in 2024-2025, a rare yield that makes him one of the revelations of the championship.
A dilemma between sports ambition and economic balance
For AJA, hesitation is real. Selling your best passer at a “sale” price would guarantee a certain budgetary comfort and would make it possible to prepare the future with confidence. But to lose Sinayoko now is also considerably weakening the offensive sector, already weakened by the departure of Gaëtan was at the end of the contract. The staff therefore studies the possibility of a quick replacement, the track leading to Lenny Joseph (Metz) resurfaces, even if the profile remains less reassuring.
Recruit or bet on stability?
The stake is not only financial. Sinayoko embodies the sporting continuity sought by Auxerre: the only confirmed axial striker, his sale would require urgently rethinking the offensive organization, even though the preparation of the second consecutive season in Ligue 1 must allow a CAP to be crossed. Bringing to an additional season with Sinayoko is to hope for a sporting impact and an even stronger future valuation … provided that it confirms.
AJA's management is therefore faced with a Cornelian choice. Take the risk of separating from a major asset to secure an immediate return, or refuse the offer for the benefit of slower sporting and financial progression? In Burgundy, collective ambition comes up against market realities.
In the end, five million to breathe or bet on a future jackpot? Auxerre, freed from any DNCG threat, must find the balance between game project and reasoned management, at the dawn of a pivotal season for an entire club.
