Teams who have booked their spot in the UEFA Champions League have already started the process of strengthening their teams for their campaign in the Premier club tournament, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
In France Lens who surpassed all expectations to finish second just one point behind champions PSG are not left out of the process of improving their squad for domestic and continental engagements. They are also bracing themselves up for a potential exit of some of their top players this season.
Key among them is Lois Openda, the 23 year old forward who scored 21 goals in 38 games last season. Already German side RB Leipzig have failed with a bid of around €30m, the expectation is that they will return with an improved offer.
In the light of a possible exit, the club has moved swiftly to open talks with Gent for Nigerian forward Gift Orban, who finished last season with 22 goals in 22 games following his January transfer to the club from second division side Stabæk of Norway.
Lens are facing strong competition from fellow Ligue 1 side Lille, who are already deep in talks with the camp of the Nigerian over a summer transfer as replacement for Jonathan David, who is expected to leave the team in the summer.
Lille could outbid Lens as they are considerably bigger but Lens are hoping that the lure of playing UEFA Champions League football will sway the Nigerian to pick them ahead of their rivals who are going to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League next season.
Daniel Martins
