Lloris misses France squad
Yaya Toure is back with Olympiakos after a 12-year absence. The 35-year-old midfielder received a warm reception from Olympiakos fans at their Karaskaikis Stadium on Sunday. Perhaps inspired by Touré’s presence, Olympiakos thrashed Giannena 5-0 in the Greek league.
Touré last played for Olympiakos in the 2005-06 season. He has been a free agent since leaving Premier League champions Manchester City in the summer.
His return has excited Olympiakos fans with the team having just had their worst season in 23 years — third place after winning 20 league titles in 22 seasons.
Olympiakos compete in this season’s Europa League after beating Burnley 4-2 on aggregate in the playoff round.
Touré said he had “offers from lots of clubs” before choosing Olympiakos.
“I cannot wait to help the club win the trophies the great fans of Olympiakos deserve,” Touré wrote on his website.
Although no financial details were given, Greek sports website Sport24 said Toure will be paid €2.5 million for one season, plus €2 million as a signing bonus.
France captain Hugo Lloris will miss upcoming matches against Germany and the Netherlands because of a muscle injury. The Tottenham goalkeeper, who did not play in his team’s 2-1 loss at Watford on the weekend in the Premier League, has been ruled out of the two UEFA Nations League games this week. France coach Didier Deschamps called the uncapped Benjamin Lecomte as a replacement yesterday. The 27year-old Lecomte, who plays for Montpellier, is regarded as one of the most promising goalkeepers in the French league. With Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda also out injured, Paris SaintGermain keeper Alphonse Areola is expected to make his first appearance on Thursday in Munich. France then host the Netherlands at the Stade de France on Sunday for their first home game since winning the World Cup in July.
Areola has been regularly called up by Deschamps over the past three years and was part of the World Cup squad in Russia.
“He has been improving constantly with PSG,” Deschamps said. “He had a very, very good season and is now experiencing a new situation following the arrival of Buffon.”
Areola established himself as PSG’s No. 1 keeper last season but the arrival of Gianluigi Buffon has revived competition for the top spot.
With the exception of Mandanda and Lloris, Deschamps will be able to count on all the other players who won the tournament in Russia, including Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane. The trio failed to make the FIFA World Player of the Year shortlist yesterday.
“A Frenchman would have deserved to be there, not only because of the world title, but also because of their whole season,” Deschamps said. “I’m disappointed for them. They deserved to be among the three.”