Lille president announces Edon Zhegrova U-turn amid Marseille interest

Yahoo

a day ago

In an unexpected turnaround, Lille OSC president, Olivier Létang, has revealed in a press conference held today that Edon Zhegrova (26) could remain at the club and see out the final year of his contract.
The president told reporters, 'It's possible that he'll stay with us, it's possible that he'll resume training from Monday and that we can count on him for the season.' He continued, 'He's a part of the squad. We considered that he could leave at some point, but I think that today the conditions are not necessarily there for him to be able to leave.'
Lille reportedly had placed a steep valuation on a player with only one year left on his contract, with the club wanting somewhere between €15-20m.
Létang explained that this U-turn would have a knock-on effect on their transfer plans, 'Rather than go out and find a new player… he's here, he's home, he's doing well, and he's eager. We talked about it. The idea, the agreement with him, if he returns to the first team, he'll play for us next season.'
Létang's new position is quite the departure from his previous statement at the start of July, when the president told reporters, 'Edon has expressed his wish to leave. It doesn't seem appropriate to me to keep him with a year left on his contract in the current economic context of French football. [His departure is something] we're anticipating.'
What about Olympique de Marseille's interest in Edon Zhegrova?
During the week, it had looked as if the wheels were finally moving and that Zhegrova would be leaving the North of France, as Foot Mercato and L'Équipe reported that Olympique de Marseille were interested in plotting a swoop for the winger.
Foot Mercato explained that Zhegrova was interested in the Marseille project, which will be playing UEFA Champions League football this season. However, they noted that Marseille had not made contact with Lille, and they were facing competition from Saudi Arabia, with Al-Nassr monitoring the Kosovan international.
Létang confirmed in today's press conference that Lille had not been approached by Marseille, stating, 'I've had no contact with French clubs over Edon.'
GFFN | Nick Hartland