Lyon coach Peter Bosz has admitted “good players” are welcome when asked whether the Ligue 1 giants want to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from Liverpool this month, speaking to RMC Sport.
If any club needed a pick-me-up right now, it’s Lyon.
The appointment of Bosz, the former Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen coach, was supposed to herald an exciting new era for Les Gones.
Instead, things have unravelled quicker than a moth-chewed cardigan.
If a 3-0 battering at the hands of unfancied Angers wasn’t humiliating enough, after the game it emerged one of Lyon’s most experienced players – Brazilian defender Marcelo – had been banished to the reserves for “inappropriate behaviour”. The club is reportedly looking to terminate the contract of the one-time Liverpool and West Ham target (Daily Mail).
A furious fanbase have made their frustration known too, hanging an incendiary banner outside the club’s training ground.
So who could blame Shaqiri if he suddenly got cold feet about the prospect of joining a Lyon side that appears to be on the verge of implosion?
Would Xherdan Shaqiri swap Liverpool for Lyon?
“If we can recruit a good player, we will, but I can’t say anything,” the under-fire Bosz said when asked specifically about Shaqiri.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the seldom-seen Switzerland international has agreed personal terms ahead of a prospective move to Lyon.
The seven-time Ligue 1 champions are struggling to stump up the £12 million Liverpool want, however, for a player whose CV includes spells at Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and, ahem, Stoke City (The Athletic).
Of course Lyon could free some much-needed funds by selling Maxwel Cornet to a Premier League club.
Pep Guardiola’s long-time tormentor has been linked with Leeds United and Burnley too, although it’s believed he would prefer to join big-spending underachievers Hertha Berlin.
Cornet may well be keen to move, though, he’s the alleged other party involved in the Marcelo incident, according to Get French Football News.
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