Paulo Fonseca's departure from Lyon, with Sporting Lisbon as his next destination, could also have consequences for AC Milan's transfer market. One of the players who has benefited most from the Portuguese coach's work in France at the start of this season is Zachary Athekame, the Swiss full-back owned by the Rossoneri who is currently on loan at Lyon. However, Fonseca's sudden departure could change the balance of power and the pecking order at the Groupama Stadium, opening up a genuine possibility of an early return to Milan for the former Young Boys player.
Athekame's impressive numbers at Lyon
Athekame's loan move to Lyon has produced the results Milan had hoped for. In Ligue 1, Athekame has so far started all nine of the nine matches, playing a total of 810 minutes, scoring two goals and providing three assists for his team-mates. On several occasions, he has even earned himself a place on the front pages. Considering all competitions, including the Europa League and Coupe de France, the Swiss player has already surpassed 900 minutes this season, improving on the 873 minutes he played last season in the Rossoneri shirt.
In just a few months at Lyon, therefore, Athekame has matched, surpassed and increased his goal contribution tally and playing time from the entire previous campaign. Amorim himself acknowledged the Swiss player's exponential growth a few weeks ago, saying the following during a press conference: "He is doing very well with Fonseca, then we will see in the future." These comments obviously provided the youngster with even more motivation, as he has never hidden his desire to wear the Milan shirt again.
Taking advantage of Fonseca's departure, it would make sense for Milan to bring Athekame back to Italy as early as January.
During this hectic start to the season, Amorim has often used Gila and Tomori as right-backs, despite both being established centre-backs. Athekame would solve this problem, as he is a natural full-back who can play both in a deeper role in a back four, as he is doing at Lyon, and further forward as a wing-back, in place of Chukwueze, who inevitably struggles with the defensive and attacking demands of the role.
Furthermore, we are talking about a player who is still very young, at 21 years of age, knows Milanello and is under contract with Milan until 2030. The real obstacle, however, will be convincing Lyon, because Athekame's early return could involve compensation being paid to the French club, which has already been experiencing financial difficulties for several seasons. Fonseca's departure could nevertheless change the situation in Milan's favour because, if Lyon's new coach were to alter positions and the pecking order, the Rossoneri would have one more reason to act, thereby protecting one of their own assets. This was relayed via Milannews.it.
