Ryad Talbi to leave Lyon academy for Nice | OneFootball

According to L’Équipe, Ryad Talbi (18) is set to join Lucien Favre’s OGC Nice from Lyon’s academy following the end of his youth contract with the club. The teenager, born in January 2004, plays as an attacking midfielder and has represented the Morocco U20 side just once, making his debut in April of this year.

Born in Grenoble, the 18-year-old has chosen to move further afield, signing a contract with Les Aiglons on the Mediterranean, who reportedly offered the same conditions as his parent club Lyon, who will lament the loss of a potential future star.

Having scored in the penalty shootout, after a last-minute substitution, to win this season’s Coupe Gambardella (the French Youth Cup), Talbi could join a long list of successful Lyon academy graduates, which include Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, Nabil Fekir, Alexandre Lacazette, Samuel Umtiti and Corentin Tolisso, who is coincidentally set to complete a move back to the club this summer.