OL's signing of experienced stopper Damien Da Silva from Rennes is one of the first of what should be an exciting 2021-22 summer transfer window, which opened this Wednesday, June 9 in League 1 Uber Eats.
The transfer window for the 2021-22 in Ligue 1 Uber Eats season is open! As of Wednesday 9 June at 0:00 ands through to Tuesday 31 August at 23:59 clubs will be out to bolster and streamline their squads, and several top flight clubs have already announced a few arrivals.
Olympique Lyonnais were one of the first to make a move official by announcing the signing of Damien Da Silva. The experienced centre-back, 33, was at the end of his contract at Stade Rennais FC and has signed with Les Gones through to June 2023. The 33-year-old has been captain of Les Rouge et Noir for the past three years and will provide competition in a sector already comprising Jason Denayer, Marcelo and Sinaly Diomandé.
Further north, FC Metz have also attracted a player at the end of his contract by luring Amine Bassi to the fold on a free. The promising 23-year-old attacking midfielder was playing for neighbouring AS Nancy Lorraine, the club whose youth academy he came up through and where he scored seven goals and provided four assists in 19 Ligue 2 BKT games last season. He has signed a four-year contract with Les Grenats.
Gaël Kakuta definitively at Lens
The Sang et Or are not to be outdone - they have already made three moves official. Two of them concern players already well known to RC Lens fans. Gaël Kakuta, the club's star performer last season (11 goals and five assists), has tied his future to his boyhood club until 2023. The Artesian club has lifted the purchase option for its number 10 after a one-year loan from Amiens SC.
Wuilker Farinez, also on loan since last summer, has also been transferred permanently to RCL. Jean-Louis Leca's understudy, who played three games this season, has signed a contract through to 2024. And as the icing on the cake of these early transfer window moves, Les Sang et Or have obtained the signature of the coveted Christopher Wooh. A revelation with AS Nancy Lorraine in Ligue 2 BKT at the end of last season, the 19-year-old central defender played 13 league games from February 2021, finding the net twice.
Meanwhile Montpellier Hérault SC have started their transfer window by reinforcing their midfield with a youngster with plenty of pedigree - and potential. Léo Leroy, son of Jérôme (418 matches in the top flight), arrives from Châteauroux, where his contract was up. The former France U19 international, now 21, played 33 league games for the Castelroussine outfit in 2020-21.
