Sage confirms Orban’s imminent arrival, discusses Benzema and praises Matic

Pierre Sage confirmed the signing of Gift Orban to Lyon during the winter transfer window on Wednesday. The Nigerian striker from La Gentoise should be signed quickly with Les Gons. Unlike Karim Benzema whose return seems totally fictional according to Ron’s team technician.

Lacking performance during the first half of the season in Ligue 1, OL regained color at the end of 2023 under the command of Pierre Sage. To ensure its retention in the elite, the Rhone Club will enroll new reinforcements during the winter. Transfer window. After Brazilians Lucas Perry and Adrielson or Belgian Malik Fofana, the club chaired by John Textor will recruit Gift Orban, barring any major surprises. The information was confirmed on Wednesday by Gones’ coach.

“He is very close to signing, he is well advanced,” assured Pierre Sage two days before the Coupe de France round of 32 against Bergerac. “So I want to tell you about him when I saw him. I’ve seen some videos of him, obviously he’s a goal-scoring striker who is also able to play with other strikers and who is also able to play in support. attacker.”

>> All the information and rumors from the transfer window

An additional option for Sage

Happy to register new attacking reinforcements in a sector that lost Tino Kadevere and Jefinho, the coach could use him with Alexandre Lacazette or even without the Les Gones captain. Even before the official announcement of the man who scored 12 goals in 30 appearances this season, Pierre Sage is convinced.

“This offers a lot of possibilities. In any case, today we have Alexandre Lacazette and we are very happy with his performance, we are very happy with what he does on a daily basis. This striker (Gift Orban) has to fill the void. There is no question today to consider as. Which we absolutely had,” the experienced technician continued until the end of the season. “It is rather a reinforcement that we expected in a very energy-intensive gaming sector and in which we should be able to have a number of solutions. And not just to replace one player.”

“Not much” on Benzema’s return.

Anxious to see the arrival of “players not of experience but experienced at a high level”, Pierre Sage then reacted to rumors of the return of OL darling Karim Benzema. Enthusiastic about Gift Orban, the coach admitted to not having information about recruiting the Ballon d’Or winner in 2022 despite his temporary concerns at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.

“It is more than a smile (the fact that Benzema approaches the track). It will be a great honor to meet him, already, because I have never met him”, confided Leon Koch, facing the press. “I don’t even know if he is free because his status at his club is not entirely clear. He has a story of vacations and problems at the club. Well, I read what was written but ultimately I don’t know much.”

And to clarify on this option: “To be honest, we hear certain voices on the social network but it is limited to that. There is not much.”

Rishi likes Matic’s profile

Also tracked by Lyon, who also made a first offer to Rennes, Nemanja Matic is currently retained by the Breton club. Without wishing to speak more on the matter, the technician confirmed that he prefers the 35-year-old Serbian for this OL who are looking for leaders.

“He’s also a name that comes up often, a bit more often than Benzema. He’s really a player in the viewfinder, obviously,” Pierre Sage continued. He is a good player.”

Before concluding: “It’s hard to say more in my position. I’m here to organize training, make sure the team plays well and coach the matches. I’m not here to pick players who are best for our club. For that Sports direction, a general direction and I have a lot of respect for the hierarchy.”

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