Ligue 1 Players Potentially on the Move This Summer
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The high quality talent produced in Ligue rarely stays in French football unless they are at Paris Saint-Germain.
That is the reality of the situation in France right now and the collapse of a four-year television rights deal has not helped matters. Mediapro took the live television rights of Ligue 1 away from broadcaster Canal+ in a deal worth £670 million annually.
However, Mediapro made one payment of £130 million last August but have since defaulted on the remaining payments as viewing figures did not meet expectations.
Amazon Prime could be the saviour of Ligue 1 as they stepped in to cover the games originally scheduled to be shown on Mediapro. However, the value of the deal is below what was originally agreed and Canal+ are taking legal action at the resale of the television rights.
The overall financial situation in the league means the top European clubs are circling, knowing Ligue 1 teams may have to cash-in on their top players to balance the books. Many of the clubs in the French top-flight already relied on player sales to help generate much-needed income but the current situation may demand that more than ever.
Leicester City have already completed the signing of Boubakary Soumare in a £17 million deal from Lille and Southampton have picked up left-back Romain Perraud from Brest for around £11 million. Who else could be making the move from Ligue 1 to the English Premier League this summer?
Forward Jonathan Ikone helped Lille to title success last season and the 23-year-old Frenchman is on the radar of several Premier League clubs. Dutch defender, Sven Botman, is another player who could be heading out of the door at Lille, with the likely destination being England.
Lyon are another team who are facing financial difficulty and it is believed they will only be signing free transfers and loan players ahead of the new campaign. Moussa Dembele was expected to sign for Atletico Madrid following his loan deal in Spain but having suffered from injury the Spanish champions decided not to take up the £30 million permanent transfer. That leaves Lyon short of cash and 23-year-old midfielder, Houssem Aouar, could be next to leave the club, with Arsenal strongly linked with a move for the player.
Jeremy Doku attracted many admirers for his performance at the European Championship and the Belgian international could be on his way out of Rennes this summer. Doku is just 19 years old but there is a younger man who has been tipped to achieve big things in his career and his name is Eduardo Camavinga.
The 18-year-old midfielder has cropped up several times in transfer speculation over the last 12 months and with only one year left on his contract, Rennes are expected to accept an offer for Camavinga this summer. Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid have all been linked with a move for the player.
Boulaye Dia, Pape Sarr, and Boubakar Kouyate are three other players who could join the Ligue 1 exodus.
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