Ligue 1 – Why OM made Vitinha the most expensive player in its history

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In the end, OM broke the bank. A few days after refusing to play one-upmanship with Nice for the transfer of Terem Moffi, the Marseille club finally resolved to cross the bar of 30 million euros invested in a single player. It was necessary to repel several English teams in the middle of the table, for which an arrival of Vitinha would rather have looked like yet another painless bet, as their coffers are overflowing.
For Marseille, on the other hand, this transfer translates many more things. On his ambitions, first, since the Portuguese striker is both the most expensive player in this winter transfer window in Ligue 1, but also the whole history of the Marseille club. Even the repatriation of Dimitri Payet had not cost as much. So far, major Olympian investments (Strootman, Mitroglou, Caleta-Car, etc.) had rather encouraged Frank McCourt to cut the floodgates.

8 HOURS AGO

The presidential mandate of Pablo Longoria, which began just two years ago, convinced him to put his hand back in his pocket. The sense of negotiation of the Spaniard and his right arm, Javier Ribalta, ended up making people forget that OM’s accounts were still closely watched by the authorities. The results of the Marseille team have restored a climate of confidence. The effort made to recruit Vitinha shows that the Marseille club does not intend to stop there and that the objective is to aim even higher.

Vitinha, the missing piece

Because, beyond being one of the greatest hopes of Portuguese football in his post, and having come close to making the trip to Qatar with the Seleção das Quinas, Vitinha also has everything to be the missing piece of the puzzle. Accustomed to evolving with another striker by his side, rather comfortable on the left side, the player revealed to Braga will now be the main candidate for the position which has so far been occupied – by default – by Mattéo Guendouzi.

On certain aspects, his sense of goal and his ability to fit in all positions, the striker born in 2000 also shares many points in common with Alexis Sanchez. In this, he has every chance of being appreciated by the Vélodrome, especially since he is also capable of getting involved frankly in defensive efforts. He must allow Igor Tudor to have an attacking trio completely adapted to his principles, with the capital presence of the Chilean and the other winter recruit, Ruslan Malinovskyi.

The misses of PSG, the promises of OM: our notebook

There remains, all the same, the uncertainty of a player revealed barely a year ago who, unlike most of the other promises that exploded in Portugal, did not experience the requirement and the atmosphere of the one of the three big local clubs. With a label of 32 million euros on the back, the march is high. But his talent is great. Waiting for the Vélodrome will be just as important.

8 HOURS AGO

9 HOURS AGO

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