Eager to relaunch Marseille training "which has never been at the heart of this club's strategy", Jacques-Henri Eyraud assured last year that it would be "a founding element of this new cycle". However, the President of Marseille encountered a first major dossier, that of Isaac Lihadji, a young 18-year-old winger who already impressed his partners and André Villas Boas, the Marseille coach, during the training sessions.
Launched in Ligue 1 on September 24, 2019 during a match against Dijon (0-0), the Marseille nugget will only have played two Championship games, before quickly making its return to reserve. While the Marseille management wanted at all costs to secure the player, the OM sports director, Andoni Zubizarreta, never managed to get along with the player's agent, Moussa Sissoko.
Campos double Zubizarreta
“Our firm offer is withdrawn. If he shows an interest in staying, we can make him another offer. I don't want to put too much pressure on a 17 year old boy. His past is linked to OM, he will continue, perhaps, in another club. But we cannot be hostage to the situation (…) I don't know if it can change or not, it will depend on him and his entourage, ”explained Villas-Boas last February. For his part, Eyraud explained wanting "young players who display the values of the club and have healthy entourages, who understand that we are talking about a development project together", in an interview with AFP .
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As L'Equipe reveals this Thursday, the French international U18 is preparing to join the LOSC and sign a first three-year professional contract with the club du Nord. Luis Campos, the strong man of the president of LOSC, Gérard Lopez, would have succeeded to precede OM and other European clubs in this file and confirms the strength of the Lille recruitment, paying since the arrival of the Portuguese recruiter in the Mastiffs in 2017.
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