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For much of the second half of the 2025-26 season, the only real talking point surrounding Juventus forward Lo\u00efs Openda was simply how little he was playing. He had fallen completely out of favor with new manager Luciano Spalletti, and it was clear that Openda had no place in Juve\u2019s present and future plans. That resulted in a question we\u2019ve asked far too often over the last few years: What happens next with this latest unwanted player?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Looks like we\u2019re about to find out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
According to reports out of France and Italy on Thursday, Juventus are closing to finalizing a deal with Olympique Lyonnais to send Openda on a season-long loan spell with an option to buy. While we don\u2019t know the full numbers of how much the deal would cost yet, as sources like L\u2019Equipe outline<\/a>, Juventus are expected to pay some sort of percentage of Openda\u2019s \u20ac4 million net salary this coming season. Openda is very much open joining Lyon, according to L\u2019Equipe, with the chance to play in the Champions League on the table for the French side if they are to get through the qualification phase next month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Seeing Openda leaving on loan always looked to be the most likely option for Juventus considering just how poorly and then how little he played last season. Of course, it doesn\u2019t help that Juve had an obligation to buy Openda from RB Leipzig that kicked in and forced their hand into keeping him \u2014 and to that we have to, again, thank now-former CEO Damien Comolli \u2014 despite all those struggles. So now they\u2019re in this situation where other clubs will likely only interested in taking a one-year flyer on Openda and see if he can rebound from a 2025-26 season in which he scored just once in Serie A.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So now we can only hope that Openda actually does produce at Lyon and convince them that he is worth more than just a one-year option. If that doesn\u2019t happen, though, Openda will become the latest player that enters the Forever On Loan group that has had far too many players included over the last handful of years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n