This is the last unexpected blow of this transfer window for Olympique Lyonnais. While the Gones were returning Strasbourg to the field in spectacular fashion (4-3 after being led 1-3 at the hour mark), things were stirring behind the scenes for David Friio and his acolytes. This is particularly the case for Ernest Nuamah who gave the management a few cold sweats. While he was about to leave the club, the Ghanaian finally stayed.
Everything was wrapped up with Fulham around a €19 million deal, almost €10 million less than the amount paid by OL to exercise the purchase option a few weeks earlier (€28.5 million). The player had even validated this destination as we informed you in the evening, rather than the one leading him to Everton, whose offer he had nevertheless accepted at the beginning of the day. As if the case was not already complex enough to follow, it was necessary to add another layer.
Nuamah felt forced to leave
At the stroke of midnight (in theory after the transfer window closed), it was announced that the deal had fallen through. The 20-year-old winger ultimately refused to commit to the Cottagers. According to The Teamhe felt pushed towards the exit, which made him change his mind. He preferred to stay in Lyon, even if it meant competing with Wilfried Zaha, who officially arrived between Rhône and Saône in the evening in the form of a paying loan (€3 million) from Galatasaray.
At first glance, one could have thought that OL would be angry with Nuamah, especially since there is still a great need to sell. This is not the case at all, quite the contrary. Les Gones had made Carlos Forbs, from Ajax, the designated successor of the Ghanaian. The Portuguese ultimately never came. He preferred to commit to Wolverhampton in exchange for a transfer worth €15 million. All’s well that ends well. Well, except for OL’s accounts.
