Olympique Lyonnais is preparing to resume the Ligue 1 championship on Saturday 16 August with a trip to Lens. OL’s pre-season was generally positive, with three out of five wins, despite an enriching defeat against Bayern Munich. Lens, for his part, also made good preparations, including impressive victories against Wolverhampton and RB Leipzig. The Lyon team may be vulnerable to intense dry cleaning, a weakness that Lens has already exploited in a previous game. At the same time, OL must manage the situation of Paul Akoukou, who refuses to leave the club despite his lack of time to play, a situation that the club wishes to resolve in order to alleviate its payroll. The imminent departure of Kingsley Coman to Saudi Arabia put Lyon on the track of Malick Fofana, a talented young winger, but Bayern Munich is not the only one interested.

The club also sees the imminent departure of Cyrille Dolce, emblematic figure of the training centre, following the regression of this section. In addition, Djibrail Dib, a young player loaned to FC Biel-Biennea, suffered a serious injury that could jeopardize his career. As far as mercato is concerned, OL must complete the arrival of Dominik Greif, goalkeeper, after complex negotiations with RCD Majorca, in particular due to bank guarantees requested by the Spanish club. FIFA, for its part, is considering restricting the exchange of players between clubs that share the same owner, a measure that targets the City Football Group and Red Bull, and that could impact the practices of certain Ligue 1 clubs.

In summary, OL tackles the new championship with multiple challenges: managing the potential departures of key players, finding solutions to ease its payroll, and adapting to the new FIFA transfer market rules. The trip to Lens will be an important first test to assess team readiness and ability to overcome internal challenges. The future of several players, as well as the club’s recruitment strategy, remain topical and controversial.