Lyon manager Pierre Sage: ‘It was always necessary to decrease the squad size.’ | OneFootball

Olympique Lyonnais were on the receiving end of a big sanction from the DNCG last week. French football’s financial watchdog took the decision to provisionally relegate OL to Ligue 2, whilst also preventing the club from recruiting this January.

It means that, in order to retain their top-flight status, Les Gones will have to sell players this winter. As per L’Équipe, a list of expendables, featuring the likes of Gift Orban, Wilfried Zaha, Said Benrahma, Ernest Nuamah, and Maxence Caqueret has been drawn up. However, Lyon are hoping to retain two of their most bankable assets: Malick Fofana and Rayan Cherki.

But despite the sanction, Lyon manager Pierre Sage has revealed that it hasn’t really changed the club’s plans, given the overwhelming need to trim the squad anyway. “It’s already normal [to sell] given the depth in the squad. We have 24 outfield players and four goalkeepers, so regardless, it was always necessary to decrease the squad size. It doesn’t really change the plan,” the OL manager told journalists on Thursday.

It is a situation already evoked by owner John Textor, who said that he intended to bring the squad size down from 29 to 23 or 24 players in January. However, a balance of sales and competitiveness must be struck, as Nemanja Matic alluded to in a tongue-in-cheek way. “All of the players are for sale? We need a team to play,” he said. Striking that balance, given that Lyon have European ambitions once again this season, will be no easy task.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle