If AS Saint-Etienne is finally on the way to strengthen the position of central defender with Pape Abou Ciss (Olympiakos), on the other hand the file of striker Mostafa Mohamed (Zamalek) has experienced a new rebound and seriously taken the lead in the wing …
Claude Puel risks having to give up on Mostafa Mohamed …
We only invested 800,000 euros on two mercatos. No French club has done so little. I could not do anything despite interesting and affordable profiles, for lack of means.
Like this release in mid-January with AFP, the coach of AS Saint-Etienne, Claude Puel, has increased the messages sent to his management during this winter transfer window.
A Senegalese rock approaching
In the technician’s viewfinder, two positions in particular. First of all that of central defender, a sector seriously weakened by the departures of Wesley Fofana, William Saliba and Loc Perrin last summer, especially since, at the same time, rookie Panagiotis Retsos mostly squatted in the infirmary. While ASSE has the 5th worst defense in Ligue 1 (35 goals conceded after 21 days), Puel is finally on the way to obtaining satisfaction in this area.
According to L’Equipe, the Forzian club has in fact reached an agreement with Olympiakos for the loan of Pape Abou Ciss (25) until the end of the season, with a fixed purchase option of 10 million euros. Recruited by the Pire club in 2017 after three seasons spent at AC Ajaccio (71 Ligue 2 games), this 1m97 rock has forged a great experience in Greece, especially on the European scene, he who started as holder of 5 of the 6 games of his club this season in the group stage of the Champions League. Expected this Thursday in the Forez in order to spend his medical visit and finalize this operation, the Senegalese international, finalist of the CAN 2019, represents a nice blow.
The soap opera Mostafa Mohamed turns into a nightmare …
On the other hand, it is much more complicated for the other priority, the attacking position, where Puel, the head of the 3rd worst attack of the elite (20 goals scored), still calls for reinforcement following the abortive arrival. from M’Baye Niang (Rennes) in October. On Wednesday evening, hope seemed to be back in the twists and turns file Mostafa Mohamed (23) and L’Equipe voiced an imminent agreement with the striker’s club, Zamalek. But the trend has reversed again in the last few hours …
Confirming the latest information published in the Egyptian press, the Eurosport media affirms that several important leaders of the Cairo club have still not taken in the statements of the Stphanois co-president Roland Romeyer and that they are doing everything to block this transfer and push the Pharaoh towards his other pretender, Galatasaray… The striker, who swore only by ASSE and who for a long time stood up to his leaders, would have even resigned himself to join the Istanbul club in the form of a paying loan of 18 months (1.6 M €) with a fixed purchase option of 3.2 M €. Unless there is a final rebound, which is not excluded, the Greens will have to forget this track, they who risk finding themselves in the embarrassment 4 days of the closing of the transfer window …
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