Youssouf Fofana has been experiencing the final day of the 2026 summer transfer window at home, waiting for a call to leave AC Milan.
Fofana has received permission from the Milan management to sit out today for transfer-related reasons. The same decision was made for the other player who was made aware he is not part of the plans, Fikayo Tomori, who has an offer from Fulham.
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Lyon off, now what?
As of this morning, Fofana was close to joining Paulo Fonseca’s Lyon, who had pushed hard to reunite the pair after their time together at Milan. Negotiations were proceeding quickly, with a loan with option to buy formula agreed.
The clubs were preparing the documents before the abrupt halt due to salary splits. Lyon asked Milan to cover 50% of the €3m net Fofana is expected to earn between now and the end of the season. It threatened to collapse the deal.
In the last few hours, Vincenzo Italiano’s Besiktas have been linked, as have the Premier League’s high-flying new boys Hull City. A saga looked like developing late on, though that has now been avoided.
However, it is Lyon who have won the race, as Fabrizio Romano reports: “Olympique Lyon have agreed deal to sign Youssouf Fofana, here we go! Details sorted and deal done today as Fabrice Hawkins reports, Fofana says yes to OL move. Loan deal with €12m buy option clause.”
Good, now only left bondo & tomori to find new club
Filippo Terracciano, Estupinan and Loftus-Cheek should join them but they won’t (be doing that) and they will stay a bit longer, unfortunatelly.
Lyon are getting a potential bargain there, especially as they’re not even covering his salary in full.
If Musah gets injured or his form drops, then us harrying Ricci and Fofana out of the club is going to look like a strange decision.
Sending Zeroli on loan was the strange decision. With Ricci and Fofana moved on, a spot was open.
Another Loan. This complete inability to permanently sell off our players is hilarious in that the players are that “high” in demand and the management simply doesn’t know how to sell.
kick the can down the road and hopefully next summer someone will be at the club who actually knows how to sell.
I dont think its the inability. Its the fact that two weeks ago these players were told theyre surplus to requirements and milan is more like lets just get rid of them at all costs than to have them sit around. To sell 4 key players from last year in a span of two weeks is hard to do. Im surprised they were even able to get it done
12 million euros?! Good Lord…
Yea that’s a paltry sum
Precisely.
It is good. Especially if Milan managed to force them cover full salary.
But even if not, again —- Milan cut loses.
We need to remember always the same fact – once whole team flopped – > they lost value on the market -> plus club have huge obligation cover their salaries + ammortisations.
That completely block club to bring new players who could potentially bring better result.
Cut loses is only way. And Cardinale make good decision by removing them totally from the team.
Of they want to continue their career they must start playing in new clubs and make future transfers -> there or somewhere else.
Tomori to go and Bondo is relatively cheap player.
Most important is to get a good Sporting director who won’t get owned in every deal by every club.. jeeeesus how do you give a 12 mil option on a loan that you also pay half salary for
What happens when you very publicly tell the world that the player will not be registered for your team regardless. Takes away any negotiating power and devalues the player at the same time.
Not to mention what a signal it might sent to potential signings if the manager changes every few months.
Or just the level of basic decency or professionalism.
This sempremilan is always last and too slow
This is 2million paid loan with option 12million.
If loan is paid than I believe lyon covers full salary. But hopefully sempremilan will give some energy for full details of all loans at the end of market.
Scary how we cannot ship off players…and that from a team like Milan. You’d expect midtier EPL teams will tee up some of these deals yet nothing. So it could be a combination of things…these players are either overrated, or their agents are plain down useless at getting them into other teams or the players are playing hard ball and refuse to leave, hoping to be reintegrated. But we can’t be putting this all squarely at the door of the club or down to poor sales strategies from the team. We have at best been getting loan deals season after season with no real movement to get some of these players off the books. So are they perhaps just not measuring up to even a midterm teams needs these days. Have we been recruiting trash all these seasons. Players in the EPL are being sold at highly inflated rates after their first 2 breakout season and here we are…could not even get 50mil for Leao…scary script…have we fallen on hard times or are we just poor at player management…
Tranfermarkt 23 million euros should be no less than 20 and obligation 2 years left on deal stop ripping us off football
Transfers in: €165.05m
Transfers out: €87.00m
Nkunku, Fofana, Gimenez and Ricci couldn’t even generate €60 million between them. The finances are going to be in terrible shape, but I think we’ll be okay with UEFA for at least another season.
Wow 12m option. Crazy work by Lyon
We buy at overprice and sell at discounts, what a failure
Here we DON’T go!