Determined to leave Bournemouth on loan in January after Eddie Howe failed to keep his preseason promises, Lys Mousset never got his wish and will remain at the Vitality Stadium until the summer.
The 21-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Montpellier after the Cherries agreed to a loan deal, and ‘advanced talks’ were being mentioned in the French press.
Rennes, Bastia (Mousset wasn’t interested) and Saint-Etienne were also mentioned by L’Equipe, yet Le Journal Du Dimanche revealed on Sunday that a more prestigious side seriously considered the Bournemouth striker’s profile over January.
The French magazine reveal Rudi Garcia’s Marseille looked at Mousset as a potential backup for Bafétimbi Gomis on a loan with a view to buy, but his worries of not being able to play the Bournemouth striker led to the whole operation reaching a ‘dead-end’.
With the Swansea loanee now injured for the next 4-6 weeks and a lack of experienced options at Garcia’s disposal, the likelihood of Mousset getting time on the pitch would have significantly increased, but Le Journal du Dimanche make it clear that even in Gomis’ absence, Garcia had his doubts.
A revelation in Ligue 2 last season, which led to him getting picked up by Bournemouth, it appears there are still some doubts surrounding the young forward, and not just at the Vitality Stadium.
This doesn’t bode well for the future, and if Mousset wants to grow as a footballer, he’s going to need to move soon enough, even if it means a return to a smaller side in France.
