Lille’s sudden pursuit of Moroccan winger Sami Ouaissa triggers a high-stakes bidding war, challenging Eredivisie giants PSV and Feyenoord to meet NEC’s steep €10 million valuation.
PSV and Feyenoord face fresh competition for NEC winger Sami Ouaissa, with French side Lille now showing concrete interest in the Moroccan.
The Nijmegen club are reportedly seeking €8-10 million for the 21-year-old.
PSV's pursuit of NEC winger Sami Ouaissa has taken another turn after French club Lille entered the race for the Moroccan attacker.
According to French journalist Santi Aouna, LOSC are still looking to strengthen their right wing and have activated several options, including Ouaissa. The NEC player already has interest from both PSV and Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
PSV Face Lille Competition
PSV's interest in Ouaissa emerged earlier this week, with VoetbalZone reporting that the Eredivisie champions had already opened talks regarding a possible transfer, as relayed by PSV Inside.
Ouaissa is under contract with NEC and has reportedly been a target for Feyenoord for some time. The Rotterdam club are understood to have reached a personal agreement with the winger, but their pursuit has stalled while Anis Hadj Moussa remains at De Kuip.
Feyenoord must therefore resolve Hadj Moussa's situation before progressing further with Ouaissa, while the financial demands from NEC could also prove significant.
According to Voetbal International, NEC are looking for between €8 million and €10 million for their attacker.
French Club Joins The Race
Lille's interest could now complicate matters for PSV. Aouna reports that the French club has specifically identified Ouaissa as one of several candidates to reinforce its right flank.
The Moroccan is reportedly attracted to the possibility of joining one of the Netherlands' traditional top clubs, with a move to PSV or Feyenoord understood to appeal to him.
However, Lille's concrete interest gives Ouaissa another option at a time when the transfer window is approaching its final stages.
The relationship between PSV and NEC may still be affected by the circumstances surrounding Kodai Sano's move to Eindhoven.
Kodai Sano has now been a PSV player for ten days, following the Eindhoven club's agreement with NEC over the transfer of the Japanese midfielder.
The move brought an emotional end to Sano's time in Nijmegen. After PSV and NEC reached an agreement, the 22-year-old decided not to feature for his former club in their Champions League qualifying match away to Olympiakos, which ended 0-0.
According to information from PSV watcher Rik Elfrink of Eindhovens Dagblad, NEC is reportedly still not satisfied with PSV's approach and handling of the Sano transfer. Should tensions between the clubs persist, they could influence negotiations regarding Ouaissa.
For PSV, the pursuit would represent another attempt to strengthen through NEC after previously bringing Kodai Sano to Eindhoven. The champions now face competition from both their domestic rivals and Lille for Ouaissa's signature.
With NEC holding firm on a substantial asking price and several clubs circling, the coming days could determine whether Ouaissa remains in Nijmegen, follows Sano to Eindhoven, joins Feyenoord or takes his career to France.
