Once the summer transfer window had closed, a number of bids and failed attempts at signing players emerged, including Manchester City’s of Tanguy Ndombele.
The young French midfielder took Ligue 1 by storm in his first season with Lyon on loan from Amiens, enough to get clubs such as Tottenham and Pep Guardiola’s side to take notice.
The Cityzens even went as far as tabling a €50m offer for his services, only for Lyon to swiftly reject it, all too aware of the talent they had at their disposal, wanting to hang onto him for a while longer before cashing in on him as they will inevitably do in the future.
That, in essence, is what the player admitted to over the weekend to Canal Football Club, relayed by RMC Sport, when asked about the potential moves he had on the table during the last transfer window.
He said: “The club had a firm stance. They didn’t want me to leave, and I didn’t feel like leaving either. I think it was the best decision for me. It’s going quite well, I’m playing a lot of games, I managed to get in the France team.”
Just because he didn’t want the transfer last summer doesn’t mean he’ll stay at Lyon forever, however.
He continued when asked if he’d like to go to Paris Saint-Germain in the future: “When I was younger, I didn’t dream of being in that club. Whether it is Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich. I’ve never dreamed of being in a club like that.
“They’re great clubs, I’m not closing the door to anyone. PSG remain one of the big French clubs, and I come from the Parisian outskirts.”
So there’s still hope for everyone wanting Ndombele, but, first, they’ll have to convince Jean-Michel Aulas with money, and we all know how difficult that can be.
