OM has not finished with its summer cleaning. After a season which profoundly reshuffled the cards within the club, the new Marseille management continues to work on several departures in order to reduce the payroll and generate cash. The change in sports governance, marked by the arrivals of Grégory Lorenzi and Stéphane Richard and the installation of Bruno Genesio on the bench, is accompanied by a new sports policy which also forces OM to review its economic ambitions. The club must deal with significant financial constraints and the summer transfer window thus takes on the appearance of a downsizing operation. After the already recorded departures of Mason Greenwood to Fenerbahçe for 39 million euros, of Hamed Traoré to Genoa in the form of a paying loan of 2 million euros, of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Deportivo La Corogne for 1.5 million euros and of Bilal Nadir, who left for Hamburg, OM is therefore continuing its departures operation.
Several files are still open and the Marseille management closes almost no doors for players likely to bring in compensation or allow for salary savings. As we revealed exclusively, OM is working in particular on the departure of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, for whom an agreement with Newcastle was close before the player’s refusal, while an agreement in principle was also found with Real Sociedad concerning Nayef Aguerd. At the same time, the file of goalkeeper Géronimo Rulli is progressing with Manchester City, while Facundo Medina is close to leaving Marseille after an agreement reached around 25 million euros with Bayer Leverkusen. In this configuration, players who are not considered essential may also be affected by an exit. The Phocaeans must sell and almost no one is completely safe from a departure if a satisfactory offer arrives on the table.
Sassuolo and Lecce are monitoring him
Derek Cornelius is one of those files likely to move in the coming weeks. The Canadian defender, recruited to bring solidity to the Marseille rearguard, has not met expectations since his arrival and his status could push Marseille to seriously study the opportunities that arise. As the club seeks to lighten its group, an exit from the defender would both recover compensation and free up a place in a defense expected to be largely remodeled. According to our information, two Italian clubs have expressed an interest in Derek Cornelius, who already interested Genoa in July and Cremonese in January. Sassuolo and Lecce follow the Marseille defender and could represent two exit doors for the Canadian during this end of the transfer window. At this stage, however, there are no advanced negotiations and discussions still remain at a preliminary stage. Still according to our indiscretions, the hottest track is on the side of Sassuolo, which appreciates the player’s profile but has yet to decide on its next recruit in central defense. Cornelius is currently on waivers with Daniele Rugani, with the Italian defender the Sassuolo management’s priority at the moment.
The transalpine club is therefore first trying to finalize this track before possibly accelerating for the Marseillais. Lecce is also keeping a close eye on the situation, particularly because the club may soon have to compensate for the departure of Tiago Gabriel, who is very popular and likely to leave Puglia. The need to strengthen the central hinge could then push Lecce to concretely return to Cornelius if the situation settles in the coming weeks. In both cases, the preferred formula could be that of a loan with a purchase option, a solution which would allow Italian clubs to take less risks while offering OM an exit possibility for a player who does not necessarily fit into the priority plans of the Marseille project. For Cornelius, an arrival in Italy, after a loan to Glasgow, would have a certain sporting logic, since the Canadian defender has a profile that fits the defensive requirements of calcio.
