Liverpool may have been presented with a fresh opportunity to land a highly-rated young talent.
The Reds are reportedly one of several clubs monitoring Olympique Lyonnais winger Malick Fofana. The 20-year-old stood out during the 2024–25 campaign, registering 11 goals and six assists across 41 appearances. His contributions helped Lyon secure a sixth-place finish in Ligue 1 and reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Despite his standout season, Lyon find themselves in financial turmoil. In November, the French football financial watchdog DNCG issued a ruling to relegate the club to Ligue 2 over reported debts amounting to €500 million, unless they could stabilise their financial situation.
That relegation verdict has since been upheld, and unless circumstances change quickly, Lyon will be playing in the second tier during the 2025–26 season. John Textor, whose company Eagle Football Holding owns a controlling stake in the club, has since stepped down from his role at the Groupama Stadium.
Lyon intend to challenge the ruling, but time is against them as they scramble to raise the necessary funds. According to L’Équipe, the club has been informed it must secure €200 million to overturn the relegation decision, with €100 million needed urgently by 10 July ahead of an appeal hearing with the DNCG.
The Independent claims that Lyon have valued Fofana at £51.5 million, attracting interest from Chelsea and Arsenal. Nottingham Forest are also said to have agreed terms with the French club, though Fofana has yet to approve the move.
Given the pressure to generate income quickly, Lyon might be forced to offload the Belgian winger at a reduced fee.
However, Textor—who recently offloaded his 43 percent stake in Crystal Palace and had previously attempted to buy Everton—is adamant that the club does not face a liquidity crisis.
The American investor, now reportedly eyeing a takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, commented:
“We’ve never been more liquid in cash. But there are things in the process I did that disappointed the governing bodies there that we need to fix.
“We did pass through the financial sustainability review with UEFA, which is quite a comprehensive process. So the fact that we didn’t pass through France has more to do with some of the specific elements that I brought to the table that I should have improved.”
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