ASSE wants to strengthen its offensive sector this winter. The Greens would be eyeing the side of the Algerian selection in this sense.
ASSE keen on a Fennec
Red lantern of Ligue 1 Uber Eats, AS Saint-Étienne is close to relegation to Ligue 2. Pascal Dupraz, the new coach of ASSE, intends to avoid a historic descent of the Greens into the second division. Reason why the successor of Claude Puel is pushing for the arrival of some reinforcements this winter. In the columns of the newspaper Progress, the Saint-Etienne coach reiterated his desire to have a new striker and a few defenders. “I was clear: we want a central defender, a striker and a full back,” said the 59-year-old technician. Regarding this offensive reinforcement, France Info reveals that the Greens are still in contact with Youcef Belaili.
Youcef Belaïli, a nice pickaxe at 0€ for Saint-Étienne
The Algerian striker is currently free of any contract. His contract with Qatar SC was terminated in December during the Arab World Cup hosted by the emirate. According to this last source, AS Saint-Étienne is in discussion with the entourage of Youcef Belaïli with a view to signing him with Sainté this winter. Surprising revelations as the trend was no longer with the arrival of the 2019 African champion in Forez. The player’s father and agent revealed that he had rejected an approach from ASSE.
“We rejected the offer from the outset, because Saint-Étienne wants to hire him for a contract of only 6 months with one objective, that of saving the club from relegation to L2. Once this objective is achieved, his contract will be extended; either conditions that do not suit us, ”he confided in the columns of Competition. In addition to the Loire club, the 29-year-old winger would also be in contact with the Swiss FC Basel. The 2nd in the Swiss championship has just sold his nugget Edon Zhegrova at LOSC against 7 million euros.