To face PSG this Friday evening at Meinau, Patrick Vieira will have to tinker. With the departure of Matz Sels, the 47-year-old technician finds himself in a strange situation... Which he would certainly have gotten out of.
Without showing impatience or annoyance, Patrick Vieira indicated at the start of the week that he wanted to welcome a new reinforcement into his workforce. “It's difficult to find the player who can bring something extra ,” he said, while the search for the position of left back and winger ultimately never came to fruition. Obviously, the reinforcement in question is therefore called Andrey Santos. This Thursday, the 19-year-old Brazilian midfielder was loaned to Racing until the end of the season , having only taken part in one Premier League match during his loan to Nottingham Forest, finally broken in January by Chelsea.
10th in Ligue 1 and riding on good momentum (Racing has not lost in 8 matches), the Alsatian club then thought it would experience a relatively quiet transfer window, where only the arrival of Serbian striker Milos Lukovic had until now was registered (it was subsequently loaned to IMT Belgrade). In terms of departures, not much to report either, except the loan of the Ukrainian Eduard Sobol to Genk and the free departure of Maxime Bastian to Sochaux. Yes, but there you have it, the forbidding formula “everything can move” during the transfer window has once again worked, and Patrick Vieira will now have to deal with his forces present.
Patrick Vieira in an impasse against PSG
Just a few hours before the end of the transfer window, and above all, a shock against PSG at Meinau (this Friday 9 p.m.) , Racing had to suffer two significant losses, to different degrees. First that of Gerzino Nyamsi, starter who became a substitute since his return from injury, and transferred to Lokomotiv Moscow as we announced to you on our site (he was not replaced). But especially that of its titular goalkeeper and untouchable since 2018: Matz Sels. By joining Nottingham Forest in the final moments of the transfer window , the Belgian international has indeed left a huge void behind him, since his club was also unable to find a replacement for him in time.
Like last summer with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, sold to Wolverhampton, the Alsatian club recorded a significant loss, namely that of one of the club's best players. A situation which will offer more embarrassment than choice to Patrick Vieira. This evening against Paris, the 1998 world champion should line up in his goals the young Alaa Bellaarouch, 22 years old, with no experience at the highest level (0 Ligue 1 matches), and relegated last season to N2 with the Stade Briochin where he was on loan. If the Moroccan showed promise in the Coupe de France against Clermont ten days ago (1-3), the club remains aware of the fragility reigning at the position. It is for this reason that the experienced Matthieu Dreyer (34 years old and 0 Ligue 2 matches with Saint-Etienne this season) was called up at short notice last night. Especially since behind them, the solutions are named Alexandre Pierre (22 years old), Ryan Tutu (18 years old), and Hugo Rauch (18 years old). Yes, the horizon is murky in the Grand Est.