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Lyon interested in Thiago Mendes & Youssouf Koné (Lille)

L’Équipe report this afternoon that Lyon have registered an interest in signing Lille pair Thiago Mendes and left-back Youssouf Koné and that preliminary talks have been held in this direction.

The interest comes with intense speculation surrounding 23-year-old left-back Ferland Mendy, who has been the subject of offers worth between €30m and €35m from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Napoli.

All bids have been rebuffed by OL, who have set their asking price at €57m. That said, there is an expectation at Lyon that Ferland Mendy will be sold, with Real Madrid in pole position to land the French international.

Les Gones have turned their attention to 23-year-old LOSC full-back Youssouf Koné as a potential replacement for the former Le Havre full-back. Lyon Chief Scout Florian Maurice is a big fan and OL have formally opened transfer negotiations with Lille to sign the player. Koné is under contract until 2022 and Les Dogues did not intend to sell him this summer.

On top of that Les Gones have made a formal enquiry with Lille for 27-year-old midfielder Thiago Mendes. If new Sporting Director Juninho decides to go after the Brazilian, the newspaper claims that OL will pay the €25m that LOSC have apparently set as a rough asking price. PSG are also monitoring the player’s situation.

OL are also competing with AS Roma, AC Milan and Napoli for 21-year-old Empoli attacking midfielder Ismaël Bennacer, per the outlet.