Marseille and Lorient have entered into talks over a swap deal involving centre-back Isaak Touré (20) and Bamo Meïté (21), according to a report from Foot Mercato. Les Phocéens are ready to listen to offers for their 20-year-old defender, who is effectively Marcelino’s fourth-choice centre-back behind Samuel Gigot, Leonardo Balerdi and Chancel Mbemba. Several mid-table Ligue 1 outfits have already made their interest known for Touré, including Lorient. Now it transpires that Les Merlus are indeed in talks with Marseille over the future of the Le Havre youth product with Lorient centre-back Meïté potentially going the other way.
Marseille’s Touré and Lorient’s Meïté have roughly the same age and the same experience, so a swap deal may make sense. L’Equipe reports that Les Phocéens are keen to bring Meïté to the Vélodrome and are considering using Touré as a makeweight. However, the outlet adds that Lorient have no intention of parting ways with their Ivory Coast centre-back, who started in the Bretons’ first two league games. Meité’s contract with Régis Le Bris’ side runs until 2026. However, L’Equipe understands that Lorient president Loïc Féry is in talks with his Marseille peer Pablo Longoria over the futures of their respective centre-backs. The publication reports that a player plus cash deal or sealing the transfer through two separate operations are options being considered.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
