After the final whistle sounded at the Allianz Riviera last Saturday, many thought they had witnessed Lassine Sinayoko’s last appearance in Auxerre colours.
Four years and 145 matches after making his debut, everything pointed to the fact that this one, played on the Nice pitch, would mark the end of his time with the Yonne-based club.
The 25-year-old even took care to bid farewell by scoring his 21st career goal for Auxerre against Les Aiglons.
And although he had once been courted by the same Niçois, it was further north, to Lens to be precise, that the Malian striker was expected the next day to undergo the traditional medical examination.
But anyone familiar with the world of football knows that nothing is ever certain until the ink is dry on the contract. Christophe Pelissier in particular. The experienced AJA coach reminded everyone of this during his post-match press conference.
“Will I regret it if he leaves? I like the ‘if’,” he joked. “For now, I don’t regret it, because he’s with me. This morning, I had a discussion with him. He had no doubts about his participation. I told him that a lot can still happen.”
A week later, Pelissier still has no reason to regret Sinayoko. After all, his player is still by his side. He even played in yesterday’s match against Nantes (1-0).
So what caused this dramatic turn of events?
Quite simply, it was the Auxerre management’s desire to prevent their number 9 from leaving. An unexpected decision, to say the least, given that the outline of a contract, based on three points, had been drawn up just a few hours earlier.
A transfer fee of €6.5 million (+ €1.5 million in bonuses) had been agreed, Auxerre had negotiated the possibility of fielding the forward in Nice, and the decision-makers in Yonne had given their word that they would sign the agreement before the match in the Côte d’Azur city. And it was precisely this parameter that was at the heart of the problem.
Because yes, everything had remained at the verbal stage. In other words, no real guarantees had been given. A parameter that was put forward by Auxerre when denying the existence of the third point mentioned above. Much to the frustration of their Lens counterparts.
And what about Sinayoko in all this?
At 25, the Malian is aware of what he owes to AJA, the club that trained him. That is why he did not want to enter into conflict with its management. While the prospect of leaving was not necessarily unwelcome to him, the idea of continuing his progress with a strengthened status also seems to suit him.
Repositioned in the centre of Auxerre’s attack, he has already scored two goals in three league games. So, even though the rest of his adventure appears to be playing out at the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps, Sinayoko may still be approached before the summer transfer window closes. Olympique Lyonnais, who are looking for a starting striker after selling George Mikautadze to Villarreal, could, for example, be tempted to make a move before Monday.
But Pelissier obviously hopes to avoid that, counting on his goalscorer, whom he wants to “absolutely keep”, in his own words.
Will he get his wish? The verdict will be in soon enough.
