Lyon President Reveals Deadlock In Depay Contract Extension Talks
Olympique Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has revealed that attempts to extend Memphis Depay’s contract have so far proved futile but they are still hopeful of tying him to a new deal.
Depay is currently sidelined with a serious knee injury that would have kept him out of action for the remainder of the 2019/2020 season and also miss EURO 2020, but the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the footballing calendar which could see him return for Lyon’s final games of the campaign when football resumes.
Depay has revitalized his career in France following a forgettable spell with Manchester United in the Premier League.
The 26-year-old’s contact expires next summer but Lyon are bent on securing an extension for their club captain, who has started courting interest from some of Europe’s best clubs.
"There is no break [in the relationship]," Aulas told the club's official TV station. "We talk to his agents, I chat with him, and we will have the opportunity to meet him.
"We will do everything to evoke an extension. All the authorities in Lyon are in favour of extending his contract.
"We are working on it a lot. I have a lot of exchanges with Memphis, Rudi [Garcia, Lyon's coach] too and Juni [Juninho Pernambucano, Lyon sporting director]. Not daily, but regularly.
"We made him a certain number of proposals, which he did not accept. He was waiting to be able to resume playing. He had imagined being able to play the Euros with the Netherlands, then there was this injury. He recovered faster, but for the moment we have not agreed."
Depay scored 14 goals in 18 games before getting injured.
