Juventus Set to Loan Openda to Lyon

Belgian striker Louis Openda is nearing a departure from Juventus to join Olympique Lyon during the summer transfer window, following progress in negotiations between the two parties.

According to "Football Italia," citing reports from "Calciomercato" and various French and Italian media, the deal will be a loan with an option to buy, while some financial details are still under negotiation.

The report indicates that Openda is not part of coach Luciano Spalletti's plans for the new season, having scored just one goal in 24 Serie A matches last season.

Juventus prefers to loan the player instead of selling him outright, due to the difficulty of recovering the transfer fee of €43.9 million between the loan and purchase.

Meanwhile, Lyon's coach, Paulo Fonseca, hopes to finalize the deal by the beginning of next week to bolster his team's attack before the season starts.

Despite nearing a departure, Openda will participate with Juventus in the friendly match against Standard Liège, due to a shortage of strikers in the team's ranks.