Juninho reveals how OL beat Atlético de Madrid for Guimarães

• After attackers Karl Toko Ekambi and Tino Kadewere (on loan until June in Le Havre), OL are finalizing the arrival of a midfielder.
• Juninho came to the press this Sunday to announce that Bruno Guimarães (22), currently captain of the Brazilian Espoirs selection, was "95%" from Lyon.
• There remains only the medical visit to be made, Wednesday in Colombia, and the player coveted by Benfica and especially Atlético de Madrid, should join OL for an estimated amount of 25 million euros.

At Parc OL,

"I can't say 100% but it's 95% done, he signed the transfer agreement on Saturday. Juninho confirmed this Sunday, after OL-Toulouse (3-0), that Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães would be one of the recruits for this lively winter transfer window. Only problem: currently blocked in Colombia to try to obtain the qualification of his selection at the Olympic Games, the player of Athletico Paranaense can not go to Lyon to pass the medical examination.

It is therefore Juninho who will fly to Bogota with two OL doctors to finalize a transfer estimated at 25 million euros on Wednesday. The Lyonnais sports director was passionate and fascinating when talking about the profile of this 22-year-old reinforcement, much awaited in order to dynamite the heart of the game of a team still not very convincing this Sunday.

🔵🔴 OL
🗨️ Juninho: "Guimaraes is 95% done. He should sign Tuesday or Wednesday" pic.twitter.com/RXCDbHfLie

Does Bruno Guimaraes have the profile to transform the OL midfielder?

You shouldn't expect him to control the team right away. He is 21 years old [22 years old in fact] and it is the first transfer of his life. He is very comfortable technically, he works a lot and he keeps the rhythm for 90 minutes. Regarding his personality, I am confident that he can quickly settle into the team, but you need a little calm with him. We are very happy, it will raise our level, especially our quality of play with the ball. And then there is his aggressiveness and his desire to win, points on which we are working for our workforce and Bruno will help us on this point.

Does he have more of a sentry or torchbearer profile?

For me, it's a number 8 very comfortable with the ball. He is able to see almost everything before the other players in the middle. It allows him to get out of difficult situations. What is much less visible today and I insist on this, is that it performs a lot of transverses of the left foot as of the right foot. He has a personality, he is an only son, his father is a taxi driver and has fought for him all his life. That's why he wears number 39, his father's taxi number. When you take a player, you have to analyze all of that and especially his desire. Like Tino [Kadewere] and Karl [Toko Ekambi], and unlike other files we worked on, we felt that they really wanted to come to our house. It made the difference, even if the president is not very happy because we spent a lot for a January transfer window (smile). But Bruno is young and I think he will bring us added value in the future.

. @ Juninhope08: “For Bruno Guimaraes, it's 95% done. We're going to go there to do the last tests. We're going to see him on Wednesday for his medical exam. We hope to be able to announce it quickly. He is very comfortable technically. We will have to be patient with him. "

Do you think this is your first big blow as a sports director since Atlético de Madrid has obviously pushed to recruit him too?

It was a fight with Atlético de Madrid and also Benfica. We showed all our desire to have him come to our house to play, we made all the financial efforts necessary and we left him alone. In the middle, Atlético a Herrera, Marco Llorente, Partey, Saul and Koke and they play in 4-4-2. So it's not necessarily just me, there are several thoughts to make. We returned to 4-3-3, with one more place in the middle. To start in Europe, a team like ours is very good, before perhaps dreaming of a team a notch above us like Atlético. Simeone called the player and the player decided with his parents. I also do not like pushing too much because if the player does not come 100% with his heart, it does not help us then.

🗨️ Stéphane Darmani: "Bruno Guimarães has confirmed his choice to go to Lyon. This is confirmed by his agent and by his press secretary" 👀🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/oKHxCElTpm

Will Bruno Guimarães be the last recruit for the Lyon transfer window?

Anything can happen until January 31. But normally, it's the last, even if our fourth defender Oumar Solet was injured. We have Marcelo, Jason Denayer and Joachim Andersen who are really in good shape, even if Joachim needs time to adapt. We also have two young defenders, Pierre Kalulu and Sinaly Diomande, in whom I really believe. One day they may be tenured with us. For me, they are ready to help us quickly, but it's up to Rudi [Garcia] to see.

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