Rock bottom of Ligue 1 during the January transfer window, Guingamp are now 18th, meaning they still have a chance of avoiding relegation if things stay this way and they win the playoff.
During the transfer window, the club recruited Didier Ndong and Papy Djilobodji after both players managed to free themselves from their contracts at Sunderland.
With neither featuring for the Black Cats since the club was relegated to League One, something needed to be sorted out, and a contract termination process was undergone to free the club of their wages.
Seeing an opportunity there, Guingamp decided to pull off a double swoop, handing the pair a new chance to rekindle their career in a league both knew well.
The signings were questioned at the time, since neither player had featured for a long time, and Jocelyn Gourvennec, with both footballers now settled in his squad, explained the thought process behind it to Ouest-France.
He said: “It’s true that Papy hadn’t played for six months, and a year for Didier, but on the information we had, after meetings with them, regarding their state of mind, we had guarantees.
“After that, you know, the winter market is very complicated. Players who are doing well, on a run of form, don’t change clubs, and you can only be on the lookout for players wanting to relaunch themselves, or loans.”
While neither have been mainstays in the manager’s plans, they have helped here and there, and the club are still in with a chance of winning silverware this year, facing Strasbourg in the Coupe de La Ligue final this weekend.
