Lokonga to join Sevilla this Friday

Sevilla and Arsenal, the club with which the player has a contract until 2026, managed to overcome initial differences and reach a final agreement on the loan of the midfielder, who worked a few kilometers from the capital Seville, in order to integrate with his new colleagues in the best possible way. In particular, Lokonga trained on his own in the Portuguese Algarve, in the Faro region, with the prestigious coaches of Apex Football Performance, while waiting for the call to go to Seville. Previously, he could also be seen training on social networks in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he comes from. There, he trained with other footballers such as Miguel Quintais or Christian da Silva, who also trained in Belgian football. Of course, it cannot be said that Lokonga wasted his time on vacation, constantly worrying about maintaining good physical condition.

Lokonga is not only dazzling Orta. At the time, it was Monchi’s long-standing wish. The current sporting director has finally managed to achieve his expected inclusion at Sánchez-Pizjuán. An agreement with the midfielder was reached a few weeks ago. It remained to conclude a deal with Arsenal, who initially considered adding a fairly high mandatory purchase option. Sevilla managed to avoid this intention of the English and move forward with the loan of the player, although the Nervionenses were interested in including an unconditional purchase option at the end of the season, an issue that the parties were working on during the day. this Thursday. Otherwise, the agreement is terminated. Lokonga will be a Sevilla player in a few hours. Before this experience in La Liga, he had to go on loan to Crystal Palace and Luton. In the summer of 2021, Arsenal paid Anderlecht a considerable sum of 17.5 million euros for his transfer.

There is no doubt that the midfield is currently one of the most sensitive areas of the Sevilla team. The departure of such standard players as Fernando and Rakitic in January, as well as the poor performances demonstrated in recent years by Joan Jordan, left the Swiss Djibril Sow too alone, and once the loan of Soumare and Agoume has expired. Lokonga comes to take the honors in this transcendental area, while Victor Orta remains attentive to Saúl Níguez and his departure from Atlético. Everything has already been agreed with the player. The name of the man from Elche is marked in red in Sevilla’s plans, as is the popular option of Ilaix Moriba. The RB Leipzig player is another old acquaintance of García Pimienta, dating back to his time in the Barcelona youth academy. In fact, it was the Catalan coach who made his debut in Barça B when he was 16 years old.

Minimum expenses

Given the enormous economic difficulties that limit Sevilla in this market and without seeing the results of those who arrive, it can be said that the sports management is marking time and trying to successfully balance the lack of financial resources. At the moment, only 4 million euros have been invested in signings, which determined the amount of Peque’s clause to terminate the contract. Chidera Ejuke arrived as a free agent, the same route that the colchonero Saul would have landed on if he had finally approached. As for Lokonga, the Belgian will only affect the Nervion coffers by the amount of the corresponding loan for one season. Sevilla uses its ingenuity in difficult times.