Multiple reports in France claim that Olympique Marseille are on the verge of a deal for Angers and Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, who was also in talks with Napoli, Leeds United and Aston Villa.
The 22-year-old made his mark with Morocco at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he helped them become the first African side to reach the semi-finals.
Angers SCO are struggling in Ligue 1 and headed for relegation, so a January sale seemed inevitable.
Napoli were hoping to purchase Ounahi and leave him on loan with Angers until the end of the season.
However, both RMC Sport and Foot Mercato claim that Marseille are on the verge of a deal worth €10m, with a four-and-a-half-year contract for the player.
If confirmed, that is considerably less than the reported €20m on offer from Napoli or €25m from Leeds United.
It therefore remains to be seen what Marseille proposed that would give them the upper hand, but it’s reported they have promised Angers a very large cut of any future transfer fee.
The French club was already smarting from losing the race for Verona‘s Ivan Ilic to Torino.