Currently on loan at Lyon with an option to buy, Duje Caleta-Car remains a Southampton contracted player for the time being.
He was initially brought in by Laurent Blanc, who then got sacked, and the arrival of Fabio Grosso as manager cut his early run of four games played short, failing to make an appearance between September 3rd and December 2nd.
However, the Southampton man has since returned to the fore now that the Italian was relieved of his duties, as pointed out by Foot Mercato on Wednesday.
The arrival of interim manager Pierre Sage has led to the defender featuring prominently at the heart of the defence, which is described as an ‘irresistible rise’.
It’s made clear that Lyon still ‘count on him’ going forward, despite the fact they are also looking to bring in a new centre-back during the January transfer window.
The issue is that the players they are targeting are tough to get, with Chelsea wanting to keep hold of Benoit Badiashile, for example.
What works in Caleta-Car’s favour is Lyon wanting to get rid of Sinaly Diomandé and Dejan Lovren in January to make room for a new arrival, meaning he still has time to convince the Ligue 1 side to buy him permanently at the end of the season.
There is an option to buy in his loan, meaning a full exit from Southampton is still very much a possibility, especially if he carries on impressing as he has done in the past two games.
