A week on from being cleared of one charge of rape and another of attempted rape, Benjamin Mendy made an unexpectedly
swift return to professional football, with Ligue 1 side Lorient announcing his arrival on a two-year deal on Wednesday
morning.
The left-back had not played professional football since his arrest in August of 2021. After he was found not guilty of six
charges of rape and one of sexual assault back in January, the final two charges against the Frenchman have now been
dismissed.
As indicated by Le Parisien, Les Merlus first moved to sign the World Cup winner well before his acquittal. The Ligue 1
side had reached out a month ago to his agent Meïssa N’diaye, who also represents the club’s head coach Régis Le Bris. Le
Parisien have sought to reach N’diaye for comment, but the agent has not responded.
L’Équipe indicate that Lorient were not the only club in the race for his signing. Burnley, via their manager and Mendy’s
former teammate Vincent Kompany, had shown an interest.
Olympiacos as well as several French clubs – and teams from further afield – also emerged as potential options. The former
Marseille and Monaco man instead makes his return to professional football with the Bretons, who finished in 10th place
last season.
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Burnley have made four signings this summer and could be about to make a fifth in Gremio’s talented attacker Ferreira.
Burnley have been active in the transfer market ahead of their Premier League return, but manager Vincent Kompany does
not appear to be finished just yet.
What players have Burnley signed this summer?
The Clarets continued their spending spree on Wednesday by bringing in Zeki Amdouni for a reported £16m. The Basel
forward follows in the steps of Dara O’Shea, Michael Obafemi and Jordan Beyer in joining Burnley this summer, the latter
two making their loan deals permanent
James Trafford is also said to be close to arriving from Manchester City in a deal worth up to £19m, though a loan move for
Borussia Dortmund’s Soumaila Coulibaly now appears to be off the cards.
According to Football Scotland, Brazilian attacker Ferreira is also being monitored by the newly-promoted side, though
Celtic are considered to be the frontrunners for a player valued at £6m by Gremio.
Who is Gremio attacker Ferreira?
As highlighted by OliveFooty, Ferreira is known as a “flashy and skilful player” who is capable of playing on either wing and
through the middle – the type of versatility that would come in handy for Kompany.
The 25-year-old has spent the first seven years of his senior career in Brazil, the past five of those on the books of Gremio,
for whom he has made just short of 100 league appearances.
Ferreira played just nine times in Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B last season as Gremio earned promotion back to the top
flight. The Dourados native’s momentum was disrupted by a hamstring injury that has also plagued him this season.
However, when fully fit, Ferreira has shown he can make an impact, highlighted by his three goals and six assists when
Gremio were last in Serie A two years ago.
That is a return of 0.38 goals or assists per 90 minutes, as per FBref, which is the exact same number Josh Brownhill
recorded at Burnley last season, for context.
Ferreira is a player who can make an impact high up the pitch, then, and the same is true of Burnley’s latest signing
Amdouni. Should last season’s Europa Conference League joint-top scorer lead the line for the Clarets, Ferreira could be the
ideal man to play just off him.
The Brazilian averaged 0.55 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes in the 2021 campaign – a metric that takes passes and
take-ons leading to a goal into the equation – which is a higher figure than any Burnley player could manage last season
(Obafemi was highest with 0.51).
It may well be that Ferreira needs a bit of time to adapt should he indeed make the move from Porto Alegre to Lancashire,
but if it is a wildcard option Kompany is after to potentially complete his attacking line-up, then the Gremio star may just be
his man.
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