Manchester City could be set to send a player on loan to Lyon during the upcoming January transfer window, following an agreement reached this summer.
Although the summer window has just closed, the winter window is already starting to make headlines. Lyon, having sold several players over the summer, was unable to finalise a deal with Manchester City.
During the sale of Rayan Cherki, the two clubs had agreed that a Sky Blues player would join Lyon on loan. That move did not materialise, and Michael Gerlinger explained the reasons behind the failure.
“We spoke extensively with our colleagues at Manchester City. We explored many options. It was difficult because the talents in our squad had better financial offers from other clubs. We needed the player’s agreement. Matthieu (Louis-Jean) pushed hard…” said the Lyon CEO at a press conference on Wednesday.
Lyon and Manchester City could negotiate a loan deal
Lyon tried to secure a Manchester City player on loan this season, but it did not work out. Such a deal would have been a valuable €0 reinforcement for Lyon, who trimmed their squad considerably over the summer. However, the Rhône club could return to the table in January, according to Matthieu Louis-Jean.
“We mostly spoke at the beginning. This clause was verbal, so it depended on the player and Manchester City. Not all conditions were met for it to happen, but we tried. They were fairly cooperative, but we didn’t find the right profile. That could change in January, as relations remain good,” said Lyon’s head of recruitment.
Within Manchester City’s first team, only a few players appear realistically available for a loan move to Lyon. On paper, three players may have limited game time this season and could potentially be open to a move to the Rhône in January: young midfielder Nico O’Reilly, experienced midfielder Kalvin Phillips, and left-back Josh Wilson-Esbrand.
This article was originally published on Top Mercato.
