Lyon want to sign Everton loanee Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal in loan-to-buy deal worth £13m
Ligue 1 giants Olympique Lyon want to sign Arnaut Danjuma on loan from Villarreal, but must convince Everton to terminate his deal early according to FootMercato.
Writing on their website (29 December), the French news outlet report that the Dutch winger is a target for the French club with Danjuma wanting more regular first-team football.
Lyon are willing to offer a loan-to-buy deal to tempt Villarreal into doing a deal, but the report claims it will be difficult to do as they must also convince the Toffees to break his loan move early during the January window.
“Olympique Lyonnais is active behind the scenes a few days before the opening of the 2024 winter transfer window. Les Gones have several targets in mind, including Arnaut Danjuma,” they wrote.
“According to our information, OL are thinking of Arnaut Danjuma. Les Gones are considering a loan with a purchase option if it does not exceed 15 million euros. If Villarreal is too greedy, OL will instead opt for a dry six-month loan.
“But the Lyonnais will have to be persuasive. Indeed, Everton has indicated that the transfer window will be calm in terms of arrivals and departures. To afford Danjuma, they will have to succeed in breaking his loan with the Toffees while managing to convince Villarreal. The mission will be difficult for OL.”
Think carefully
If Everton are going to let Danjuma leave the club in January, then they simply have to be ready to enter the market to sign a replacement first.
The 26-year-old hasn’t played much or made much of an impact in his time at the club so far, with Dwight McNeil and Jack Harrison ahead of him in the pecking order in the wide positions.
However Sean Dyche knows this is a long season and injuries could easily be an issue, which would see Danjuma come straight into the team and be given an opportunity to get a run of games.
Danjuma could push for an exit to play regularly elsewhere, but Everton have to put themselves first in this situation or it won’t be worthwhile at all and they could leave themselves short in a season where they’ve been pushed into a relegation battle due to their ten point deduction.
January is going to be a long month for rumours and speculation, so this is one that the fans of the club definitely need to pay attention to and keep an eye on.
In other Everton news, the club are “Very likely” to terminate this loan deal early in January.