A lot was made about Fulham spending €30m on André Franck Zambo-Anguissa very late on in the summer window.
It was a lot of money for a player who had only really completed one full season as a professional, and while he was talented, he was also unproven.
Now in London, the Cameroon international is still trying to find his feet in the Premier League, and a few of his performances have been heavily criticised by the local media, meaning the amount spent on him has once again been brought up.
Over in France, however, many felt Marseille could have been better off simply keeping their defensive midfielder for another season or so and potentially selling him for more next summer or in 2020, helping him avoid this situation.
This was put to Andoni Zubizarreta, the Ligue 1 side’s director of football, during a TV show on RMC Sport, and the Spaniard tried to explain led to the sale.
He said: “Zambo is a very good player, a magnificent person because he always wants to learn. We wanted to develop him here, to make him grow with us, but there are moments in life when very important offers arrive for the player and the club, and that’s when you have to make a decision.
“This time it was to sell him to Fulham, but we are still following him. He must know that we are still following him”.
Perhaps, a bit like Florian Thauvin’s move to Newcastle, Marseille are hoping they might be able to offer the midfielder a safe haven on loan at some point in the near future before buying him back for a smaller fee?
After all, look at what the France international is achieving these days. They’d be foolish not to consider it.
