Opportunities for the 19-year-old at the Groupama Stadium this season were likely to be limited with both Anthony Lopes and Rémy Riou ahead of him in the goalkeeping pecking order at Lyon. Rémy Riou has been deputising for Lopes who has been out with injury in recent weeks. 

FC Sochaux have been embroiled in financial trouble over the summer and were on the brink of bankruptcy amid the DNCG’s decision to relegate them to the third tier of French football. However, the club were saved after Jean-Claude Plessis completed a takeover of the club. Subsequently, Patouillet will be hoping to help them secure promotion back to Ligue 2 this season. 

GFFN | Liam Wraith

Should the DNCG give a greenlight to Sochaux, the Doubs club would be eligible to play in National 1. Sochaux would then ask the French FA to be drafted into the third-tier. The league is starting today. However, should the DNCG refuse Sochaux’s budget, the sale agreement between Nenking and the new owners would become null and void. Consequently, the Chinese Conglomerate would file Sochaux for bankruptcy before Belfort’s Commercial Court.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Romain Peugeot, a private investor and the great-grandson of the club’s founder, tried to raise the required funds to save Sochaux, to no avail. On Wednesday, Peugeot then tried to appeal the CNOSF ruling before the Paris’ administrative court. However, according to L’Est Républicain, this appeal was denied as well. With Sochaux likely unable to prepare a budget for a season in the third-tier, the club is now heading for an imminent bankruptcy. Peugeot has reportedly thrown in the towel for his proposed takeover of Sochaux.

With Ligue 2 set to start as early as this Saturday, the League has announced that it has triggered Article 520 of their administrative rules, allowing the last relegated Ligue 2 side to be drafted back into the second-tier. The LFP added that Annecy will therefore kick-off their Ligue 2 season this Saturday against Guingamp. Due to the very short delay to stage the game, Annecy v Guingamp will be played behind closed doors.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

The DNCG – French football’s financial watchdog – had handed the former Ligue 1 side the sanction over their financial troubles earlier this summer.

An attempt to save the club saw Romain Peugeot – the grandson of the team’s founder – join forces with local investors and present a project to acquire it for a symbolic euro from Chinese conglomerate Nenking. However, the takeover would only go through if the club had remained in Ligue 2.

However, reports this weekend indicated that Nenking had pulled out of an agreement whereby they would provide €4m of the €12m requested by the DNCG. Peugeot had sought to secure a Plan B to bring together the remaining funds, ultimately to no avail. Reportedly, the CNOSF commission believes that there were too many new elements to the project that Sochaux put forward, with respect to the one they presented to the DNCG. The decision means that Annecy are expected to retain their spot in Ligue 2, four days before the start of the season.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin  

The former Ligue 1 side were relegated to the third division for administrative reasons, and have found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy. Romain Peugeot, the grandson of the club’s founder, and backed by local investors, had agreed a deal to buy the club from Nenking. The deal would see him provide three-quarters of the €12m requested by the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog.

However, Nenking, who have been in charge since 2020, have now decided not to put the remaining €4m on the table, according to the senator for the Territoire de Belfort department Cédric Perrin, speaking to AFP. 

According to France Bleu, Peugeot has in any case now become the owner of Sochaux, with Nenking completely withdrawing in exchange for a symbolic euro. However, the sale is dependent on the club’s appeal with the French football authorities being accepted. Their appeal with the CNOSF – the French Olympic Committee – will take place tomorrow afternoon. The committee will give an advisory opinion, with the FFF executive committee then due to make a definitive decision. 

France Bleu add that the DNCG are no longer asking for €12m, but rather €9.5m following the sales of Eliezer Mayenda to Sunderland and Abdallah Nour to Guingamp. Peugeot had reportedly anticipated Nenking’s withdrawal, and has called on other investors to bridge the gap.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin

Mayenda’s move to the Stadium of Light was on hold last week. Whilst a deal was all but concluded, the French club froze the deal as Sochaux looked to find a buyer to save themselves from bankruptcy. According to France Bleu, Romain Peugeot reached an agreement to sign the Ligue 1 club on Wednesday. They will now appeal to retain their place in Ligue 2. 

Within the club’s difficult financial context, Sochaux were looking for a higher fee for Mayenda, but recent developments, as well as further negotiations, have now seemingly facilitated the Spain youth international’s move to Sunderland. L’Équipe are reporting that a deal has finally been struck in the past hours. The deal is worth just over €1m and includes 25% of a future sale. Mayenda will now undergo a medical with the Championship club. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

According to France Bleu, the grandson of the club’s founder, Romain Peugeot, has reached an agreement with the current owners, Chinese conglomerate Nenking, to take the club back into the hands of the Peugeot family.

After long negotiations involving Peugeot and Sochaux president Frankie Yau on Monday, a letter of intention was signed between the parties involved. Peugeot, along with local investors, will put €8m on the table, with Nenking adding €4m to reach the €12m sum that the club needed in order to attempt an appeal to keep their place in Ligue 2.

The move is expected to save Sochaux from bankruptcy, with Peugeot becoming majority shareholder (67%) and Nenking keeping a stake of one third. The latter still intend to sell the club, and are expected to be reimbursed further down the line. 

The club will now be hoping for their appeal with the French Olympic Committee to be accepted – for that to happen, the €12m needs to be in the club’s accounts as soon as possible. In any case, the club will return to the Peugeot family, eight years after the car manufacturer sold it. The team was founded in 1928 by Jean-Pierre Peugeot, specifically for the company workers.

The Doubs club is on the verge of bankruptcy after being handed an administrative relegation to third-tier National 1 by the DNCG – Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion, French football’s financial watchdog. Sochaux have either sold their most marketable players or terminated their contracts entirely. In this context, promising Spanish forward Mayenda was transfer-listed. Sochaux and Sunderland then agreed a transfer fee in excess of €1m with a 20% resale percentage. According to l’Ést Républicain and L’Équipe, Sochaux allowed Mayenda to take a tour of the Black Cats’ facilities last weekend.

However, there’s a twist. Sochaux president Frankie Yau and club CEO Samuel Laurent have contacted Mayenda’s entourage to inform him that the move to the Championship side was off. The club’s last-gasp attempt to find a potential buyer to save it from bankruptcy would be the reason why Mayenda’s move to Sunderland has been called off.

Meanwhile, L’Equipe understands that the Sochaux executives are now asking for a €1.5m transfer fee for the U17 Spain international. The French publication understands that Mayenda met with the club’s board to inform them of his desire to part ways with Sochaux.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Sochaux have therefore released or sold the majority of their professional squad. The French publication understand that Sochaux and Le Havre have struck an €1m agreement for the signing of Ndiaye. Still, the Frenchman’s switch from Sochaux to Le Havre would be complete only if the Doubs side manage to avoid bankruptcy. L’Équipe understand that Ndiaye was targeted by Championship side Watford, Jupiler Pro League outfit Anderlecht and Ligue 1 club Stade Brestois.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

More bad news could be looming for Sochaux. Should the 2007 Coupe de France winners fail to present a viable budget for the third tier, which is unlikely, Sochaux would fall even further down French football’s food chain. L’Équipe understand that Sochaux are expected to be demoted down to National 3, the fifth-tier, in the event of bankruptcy. It remains to be seen which club would replace Sochaux for next season’s Ligue 2 now. Annecy, as the last relegated club in National 1, have already jumped the gun and declared they would remain in the second tier.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval