The international hopeful striker of Nice, Amine Gouiri, was not selected in the group of 21 players summoned by Lucien Favre for the meeting in Lille on Wednesday, counting for the 5th day of L1, and is close to a departure, according to consistent sources.
While he remained on the substitutes’ bench against Marseille (0-3) last Sunday and three days earlier he had been excluded from the Europa League Conference play-offs, Amine Gouiri will not be in Lille on Wednesday evening. According to various sources familiar with the matter, the 22-year-old player is in the process of leaving. He is of interest to several clubs, including Juventus Turin, according to the daily The team. But according to these same sources, it is Rennes who would be close to welcoming him, while the Breton striker Gaëtan Laborde, 28, could do the opposite. Tuesday, during the presentation of Sofiane Diop, new recruit from Nice, the President of the French Riviera Jean-Pierre Rivère confirmed “the possibility” of an exchange between Gouiri and Laborde. “It is part of the discussions, of the eventualities, but like others”, did he declare. The negotiations would still stumble over the additional amount that Rennes will have to pay to finalize the transaction. The sum proposed by Rennes (5 million euros) and that requested by Nice (15 million euros) were initially too far apart. But the two parties are continuing negotiations.
Gouiri is not the only one to be absent from the Nice group which moves to Lille. Midfielder Alexis Claude-Maurice, holder against Tel Aviv then against Marseille, as well as Dutch international striker Calvin Stengs, were also dismissed without being injured. According to a source close to the Nice club, the first is in advanced contact for a loan with option to buy in Lens. The second will be loaned to Belgian club Royal Antwerp.