Ligue 1 outfit Lyon find themselves in hot water after the French football powers handed down a provisional relegation and transfer ban to the club.
The authorities found more than �400 million worth of debt in the teams accounts and ordered them to get their house in order or face the sanctions being applied.
In a press conference, owner John Textor said there is no chance the club will suffer those punishments, but it is clear that fund-raising measures, including player sales, will likely be needed in January to help balance the books and satisfy the regulators.
Said Benrahma and Moussa Niakhate among Lyon's most marketable players as Les Gones look for sales
Both Said Benrahma and Moussa Niakhate who only signed for Lyon in the summer from West Ham United and Nottingham Forest respectively are two of the most valuable assets at the club, both with market values of 15m, according to Transfermarkt.
Due to their recent and extensive Premier League experience, they are likely two of the most marketable players at the Groupama Stadium, but both arrived for not-insignificant fees in the summer, meaning the chance of either sale recording a substantial profit margin could be slim especially with fellow clubs knowing Lyons desperate situation.
Much more at risk of a forced departure could be the likes of midfield duo Rayan Cherki and Maxence Caqueret.
The two locally-born men, 21 and 24 years old respectively, rose through Lyons academy and stand as two of the clubs most valuable assets in and around the 20m mark, according to Transfermarkt.
A sale of either of those two would go down as pure profit on the French clubs balance sheet, but would clearly come with intangible emotional costs for Lyon fans with Liverpool linked with Cherki.
Textor and his fellow decision-makers will hope to net more for the promising duo, but theyll need a tough negotiating stance as clubs will undoubtedly look to leverage Lyons very public struggles to get a cut-price deal. Whatever happens in January, there looks to be some tough months ahead. Lyon will hope they can embody their nickname Les Gones (The Kids) and replace any headline sales with budding academy talent.
A third of the way through the Ligue 1 season, Lyon have amassed 18 points, double that of Le Havre, currently occupying the first automatic relegation spot.
With that in mind, in FourFourTwos opinion, if Lyon can do enough in January to hold off the application of those sanctions, they may have done enough in the early part of the season to avoid the drop.
But there are a lot of moving parts to address before thats a possibility, and Lyon fans will surely be eyeing the performance of their clubs backroom staff much more intently than anything going on on the pitch at the moment, as buying clubs circle in search of a bargain.
With Textor coming close to purchasing Everton earlier this year, it may seem like a bullet dodged for Toffees fans watching from afar.
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