Ten years after his last match in the Lyon tunic, will Dejan Lovren once again settle down in the Rhône?
In any case, this is what is looming according to information from L'Équipe.
The player has even already passed his medical exams but OL still have to agree with Zenith Saint-Petersburg on a small transfer fee which would make it possible to buy out the last six months of the Croatian's contract.
In a few days, Dejan Lovren should therefore join the club in which he had hardened himself at the highest European level, in the early 2010s.
Lovren celebrates the 3rd place in the world acquired by Croatia during the World Cup in Qatar.
Icon sports.
Picture Alliance / Icon Sport
In the OL jersey, the 2018 vice-world champion still played just over 100 games between 2010 and 2013 for three small goals scored.
But the Croat's Lyon experience, punctuated by numerous physical glitches which deprived him of around fifty matches, left an aftertaste of unfinished business.
Especially since many saw in him the worthy heir of Cris, emblematic Brazilian defender of OL during the 2000s.
At the end of a disappointing 2012-2013 season, punctuated by several dumplings, the rough stopper crossed the Channel and joined Southampton.
“The last six, seven months in Lyon, I was hampered by an injury.
Then, I was not happy because of the problems within the club… I had to clear my head”, he said then.
Mission accomplished for Lovren who will make the big leap a year later by signing for Liverpool.
Laurent Blanc wanted to "improve the group"
But despite a Champions League final disputed against Real Madrid in 2018 (lost 3-1), then a World Cup final against France the same year (defeat 4-2), the Croatian was quickly overtaken by the injuries and his playing time is reduced to a bare minimum.
Lovren then signed with Zenith Saint-Petersburg for two and a half seasons.
His leading performances with Croatia during the 2022 World Cup therefore caught the eye of the Lyon board, which thus responded favorably to a request from Laurent Blanc.
“There is a workforce, a transfer window that will open.
I don't demand anything at all.
I tell my owners, my managers, that if we want to achieve the objectives set, we have to improve the group, ”said the new Lyon coach at a press conference last week.
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The 33-year-old player should therefore quickly integrate the Rhone starting lineup, alongside the young Castello Lukeba who he will form the hinge.
And to whom he will bring his experience of the very high international level.
