Lyon defender Jérôme Boateng (34) has denied claims that he is nearing an exit from the Ligue 1 club, with his current deal expiring in June 2023. This comes after a report from Foot Mercato suggests that Lyon want rid of the former Germany international and are also open to a sale in January.
“Since Laurent Blanc has been our coach, things have been going very well for me personally,” Boateng told Kicker. “The coach’s trust and opinion are important for me, everything else is irrelevant.”
Discussing his future, Boateng added: “No one from the club spoke to me or my agent about it,” further emphasising that he hasn’t had talks with other clubs: “My focus was 100 percent on getting fit again.”
Boateng made the trip to the training camp in Dubai but didn’t feature against Arsenal or Liverpool. But per Kicker, the fact that he was there suggests that Blanc is still counting on the central-defender.
Since his move from Bayern Munich in 2021, Boateng has had somewhat of a difficult period in France. Although 24 league games in his first season under Peter Bosz, the German found himself sidelined in the second-half of the season and was no longer considered by Bosz in the early stages of the current season – that was of course until Blanc replaced the Dutchman, who relied on Boateng until his meniscus injury picked up prior to the World Cup.
As reported via our colleagues at Get French Football News, Boateng is quietly hoping for an OL extension after rediscovering playing time but there is a plan to allow him to leave should a club show interest.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
