‘Lyon to pay fine to Nottingham Forest over Matt Turner transfer cancelation’
Lyon know they are going to have to pay a fine should they not proceed to sign American international Matt Turner from Nottingham Forest.
The ownership of American businessman John Textor has been a rocky spell in the French club’s history.
After his acquisition, Lyon struggled to return to the form of the club that set a Ligue 1 record for seven successive league titles in the 2000s.
After qualifying for the Europa League the last two seasons, les Gones faced a potential relegation to Ligue 2 due to the club’s poor finances at the end of June 2025.
Actions made by the club including player sales such as Rayan Cherki to Man City created financial assurances that allowed the club to play in the Ligue 1 and the Europa League next season, but a previously-agreed signing is now causing an issue.
Turner’s Lyon future in jeopardy
L’Equipe journalist Erik Bielderman has told talkSPORT (24 July) that Lyon are looking for ways to cancel the proposed move for USMNT keeper Turner.
Reportedly, Lyon’s lawyers are seeking ways for the club to back out of the agreement due to the club’s financial situation, or risk paying a fine to Nottingham Forest.
The contract was signed during the leadership of Textor before his resignation from leadership roles, but under Michele Kang’s tenure, the club feels they need to cancel the agreement before the player has even arrived as they need the £6.5million elsewhere.
Bielderman said: “With this player Matt Turner, they feel this is a choice by the former administration and they don’t want to keep that contract.”
talkSPORT host Danny Kelly then proposed the potential for Lyon to sell number one keeper Lucas Perri, deeming the Brazilian “one of their most sellable assets” and that “surely Turner would be one of their replacements.”
Bielderman replied: “That’s the question mark that I don’t have a clue.”
The journalist suggested that perhaps the Nottingham Forest keeper was brought in as a back-up option, with the French outfit seeking to sell Perri to fund another first-choice addition.
Regarding the situation, Bielderman added: “To me it is very surprising, it is very rude not to respect a contract.
“This goalkeeper (Turner) looks like a sensible goalkeeper to be in a team like Lyon, it is nearly nothing now. It is a team which will fight in the relegation zone.”
Lyon a club in a disastrous position
Football Insider verdict
In financial peril, losing the likes of club captain Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma as well as not signing Thiago Almada, Lyon are facing a difficult season ahead.
A disjointed and chaotic ownership from above will feed down to the players below, which could see, as Bielderman said, les Gones battling for survival at the bottom of the table if they aren’t careful.
| Arrivals | From | Departures | To |
| Afonso Moreira (£1.7m) | Sporting CP | Rayan Cherki (£31.6m) | Man City |
| Alexandre Lacazette (Free) | Neom SC | ||
| Said Benrahma (£10.4m) | Neom SC | ||
| Amin Sarr (£3m) | Hellas Verona | ||
| Johann Lepenant (£2.2m) | Nantes | ||
| Adryelson (£1.9m) | Nantes |
Their sole signing of the window is Sporting CP’s Afonso Moreira, a 20-year-old forward who made just three appearances for the Portuguese side last season and certainly not capable of replacing Lacazette.
Prior to the new season, Lyon’s hierarchy have to make bold decisions during a torrid financial period to try and bring in shrewd signings as well as raising funds to save cash.
Brazilian keeper Perri is one of the ways to bring in much needed transfer money, but with knowledge of their financial struggles, clubs from around Europe may snipe Lyon’s best players knowing the club is desperate to sell.