In his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack column, journalist and French football expert Jonathan Johnson dives into what is happening in Ligue 1 including Houssem Aouar’s impending free transfer away from Lyon, Lionel Messi’s PSG contract, Eric Bailly’s disappointing spell with Marseille, and much more…
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Houssem Aouar attracting interest from Premier League
He will be leaving Lyon at the end of the season unless there is a massive change of heart on the player’s side. He’s being looked at by a number of Premier League clubs outside of the traditional top six but I can say for certain that these clubs have baulked after learning the demands of the player’s camp. He’s going to be a free agent, so his representatives know they can obviously hold talks with a host of clubs due to his situation.
It sounds like a change of scenery is best for Lyon and the player. Lyon aren’t happy about losing him for free but this is the consequence of failing to cash in on him in the previous windows, but that isn’t really their fault. All of the clubs interested in Aouar, and not just those in the Premier League, Roma, for example, really like him too, but they all knew he wasn’t going to extend at Lyon so there was never really any motivation to make a transfer offer. Also, the higher demands on the player side meant it would be a huge gamble.
As for Lyon, their situation is definitely one to watch. It’s unlikely they’re going to qualify for the Champions League next season so they have a number of players, not just Aouar, who could leave.
Lionel Messi set for PSG crunch talks later this month…
The latest, as I understand it, is that there are contract extension meetings scheduled between PSG and Lionel Messi’s camp for later on in the month. At the moment, nothing has been decided either way including the player’s salary. But one thing that is certain is that this potential extension is as important to Ligue 1 as it is to PSG. There is a vested interest from the French league for a player of Messi’s calibre to continue. The crunch will be later this month and obviously, with the way things have gone for the Parisians this season, including being out of the French Cup already, as well as suffering a first-leg Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, it’s safe to say this campaign isn’t shaping up to be their best, so for Messi, this could go one of two ways; he will either feel determined to make next season a better one, or he will feel frustrated and may not want to waste another year.
Obviously, there was a lot of talk of Inter Miami trying to sign him not that long ago, and although it was never really that advanced, they do retain some interest, but so do a lot of other clubs. Barcelona are not one though. Any suggestions of Messi returning to the Nou Camp have all but died down now. Their project has changed since he left nearly two years ago and there are still a lot of raw emotions about how he left. There has been a lot of frustration on Messi’s part, not so much toward the current regime, but certainly the previous one, about how he left. He still feels hurt and angry about how his time at the club came to an end.
As for the prospect of him playing in the MLS, and Inter Miami specifically, there does seem to be quite a strong chance that he’ll play there before the end of his career. However, a lot will depend on where he sees his future after PSG. Personally, I don’t think he’ll look to join another European club.
Regardless of what happens though, it’s important for me to stress that a decision to renew his deal at PSG has yet to be made. We’ll know more about the World Cup winner’s future in Paris in the coming weeks.
Marquinhos set to extend PSG contract…
There is already an agreement with PSG to extend Marquinhos’ contract. I’m surprised it’s not already official – I expect it to be very soon. I have heard the agreement is until 2027. Their desire is for Marquinhos to see out his career at the club despite his poor form recently. Whether or not he remains captain is another matter though. The rise of Kylian Mbappe, which has seen him emerge as a potential captain, not just for his club, but also for France, could lead to Marquinhos relinquishing his duties.
All of this ties in with PSG’s need to trim their wage bill ahead of next season though. They have Milan Skriniar coming in from Inter Milan, so it’s unlikely Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe will all stay. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Ramos who is the one sacrificed due to his age and the fact his form has dropped off.
Marseille not impressed with Eric Bailly…
When Marseille sign players permanently, they generally look to flip them quite quickly, but when it comes to Man United’s Eric Bailly, I am not sure he’s done anywhere near enough to convince them to take him permanently, so if they are in a situation whereby they have to due to the clauses in his deal, I would expect them to look to offload him as soon as possible.
However, with that being said, given the performances he’s put in since he’s been at Marseille, I’m not sure there are going to be a lot of clubs lining up to take him, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with him over the next 12 months or so.
Son Heung-min to PSG?
There has been some talk recently that Son Heung-min could be an option for PSG or Bayern Munich.
I think returning to the Bundesliga would be the logical destination for Son because that’s where he came from. But as for his recent links to PSG, although they’ll probably be looking at him, their current front three of Neymar, Mbappe and Messi is one that doesn’t really function as they’d like. So even though Son’s international profile would tick a lot of boxes, because he is a like-for-like type of player for what they already have, I’m not sure he’d be a good fit.
I think if PSG were to bring in another wide-man, they’re more likely to go for AC Milan’s Rafael Leao or Lyon’s Rayan Cherki. However, winger aside, I believe their top priority is to go for a target man striker – someone who has aerial presence; very similar to the system Didier Deschamps sets the French national team in with Olivier Giroud up front.
Dusan Vlahovic on PSG shortlist but concerns over striker’s form…
Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus is an interesting one. You’d assume Juventus are not going to be in Europe next season, certainly not the Champions League anyway, so there is going to be a lot of players leaving Turin in the summer and Vlahovic is certainly one that could leave.
He’ll definitely be of interest to PSG, but they will be weary of how his form has dipped since joining one of Europe’s biggest clubs following his departure from Fiorentina.
Apart from Vlahovic, there aren’t many players out there who fit the profile PSG are looking for, so again, it’s going to be interesting to see how the club manage it. You may find that Luis Campos tries to uncover a gem from elsewhere. He obviously knows the Portuguese market inside out, so he could look there in an attempt to find PSG’s next hitman.