Official | Lille sign Villareal’s centre-back Aïssa Mandi on a free transfer | OneFootball

Lille OSC have announced the signing of Algerian international centre-back Aïssa Mandi (32) from Villareal on a two-year deal. The experienced defender had parted ways with the La Liga side earlier today.

Only a few hours after having presented their first three signings to the media, Lille have officially announced a fourth recruitment this summer. After Ethan Mbappé (17) and Ngal’Ayel Mukau (19), Les Dogues are now bringing some experience to their squad, with Thomas Meunier (32) and Mandi. Last season, the Algerian centre-back was used sporadically by Marcelinho at Villareal, taking part in 22 games across all competitions. However, his experience on national, continental and international stages convinced Lille to sign him.

With Mandi having mutually parted ways with Villareal in order to sign to Lille, Les Dogues have registered their third free signing of the summer so far. The experienced defender returns to Ligue 1 for the first time since leaving Stade de Reims in 2016 and has signed for two years with the Northern side, where he is expected to play a backup role similar to the one of Samuel Umtiti (35) last season.

GFFN l Grégoire Devaux