It’s an obvious sign that a deal is close to happening when a player is completely left out of a squad, but it’s an interesting one to see Memphis Depay dropping to the bench tonight.
Moussa Dembele is also on the bench so it’s not like he’s been dropped for another star player, so it does hint that a move to Barcelona could be edging closer:
#MHSCOL à 21h !
La compo lyonnaise ?? pic.twitter.com/DuqOvevEyP
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) September 15, 2020
Yahoo Sports recently reported that a deal worth €25m had been agreed and the player was already packing his bags in preparation of a move, but clearly it’s not close enough to keep him out of the team tonight.
There’s absolutely no point in putting him in the squad if there’s no intention to play him, so this also runs the risk that he could come on and pick up an injury that could scupper a move.
The report claims the deal would be completed later this week so it’s possible that this is a chance for him to give a farewell performance, so it will be interesting if he gets onto the pitch.