The agent of rising Belgian star Malick Fofana has tipped his client to reach the very highest level, backing him to thrive at a club like Manchester City or Liverpool and revealing that the transfer wheels are already in motion.
Fofana came close to leaving Lyon in the summer, as Everton and Fulham both held talks to sign him. Reports suggested the two Premier League clubs were willing to meet Lyon’s €45million (£39m) asking price, though neither transfer went through.
While the left winger does one day want to shine in the Premier League, he felt it was not the right time to leave Lyon.
Fofana is continuing his development in France, and has notched two goals and one assist in nine appearances so far.
He opened the scoring for Lyon against Toulouse on Sunday, but ultimately came out on the losing side.
Fofana’s agent Frederico Pena – executive director at Roc Nation Sports – has now held interviews with Belgian newspapers HLN and De Morgen, discussing just how successful the 20-year-old can be.
When asked about Fofana potentially joining Everton or Fulham in a World Cup year, Pena said: “Fofana feels very valued in Lyon. He did not want to take the risk.”
The representative continued: “This is the season where Fofana wants to show himself to the world, especially at the World Cup. If he succeeds, he could move from Lyon to a top 10 club.
“We have a lot of faith in him at Roc Nation. He belongs at clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City, Bayern Munich.”
Pena added that Fofana is ‘gradually preparing for a transfer’ away from Lyon and that he could ‘become a world star like Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal or Kevin De Bruyne’.
An agent talking up his client is nothing new, as Pena will want Fofana to achieve the biggest move possible next summer.
What is interesting though is that Pena has confirmed Fofana is preparing to leave Lyon in 2026.
Despite City being namechecked, Fofana is more likely to join one of their English competitors as things stand.