Lyon have had a busy weekend in the transfer market with the capture of Fabian Monzon from Nice and the re-signing of Steed Malbranque.
Monzan and Malbranque join Lyon; Pied moves to Nice
Lyon have had a busy weekend in the transfer market with the capture of left-back Fabian Monzon from Nice and the re-signing of midfielder Steed Malbranque.
Monzon has joined the Ligue 1 giants on a four-year contract in a deal that saw French forward Jeremy Pied move in the opposite direction to Nice.
Lyon have confirmed the deal, revealing they had paid their Ligue 1 rivals €3million, potentially rising to €4m with bonuses.
Pied joins Nice for €3m, meaning that the only money that will change hands between the clubs will be for any bonus payments that Lyon have to make as part of the terms of the Monzon deal.
Argentina international Monzon arrived in France last season from Boca Juniors and scored eight goals in 34 matches on his debut Ligue 1 campaign.
It is thought the 25-year-old, who previously spent time on loan at Spanish side Real Betis, is being lined up as a replacement for Aly Cissokho, who has been linked with a move to Valencia.
Return
Meanwhile, Malbranque has ended his one-year hiatus from top-level football by returning to his former club Lyon on a one-year deal.
The 32-year-old French midfielder had been training with the club since the beginning of July and featured in some of their pre-season friendly games.
Malbranque returned to France following his release by Sunderland last summer and joined Saint-Etienne, only for his contract to be terminated by mutual consent for personal reasons a few weeks later.
His departure from the Stadium of Light had ended a 10-year stint in England, during which he also played for Fulham and Tottenham.
