The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $45.3K — a club that wants a squad player enough to be asked twice.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AS Algoy have kept their man, and AS PSI go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Brahim Goudja and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
AS Etat Major have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
A new face in his position, and Ali Issa Blagué suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. AS PSI have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Abdoulaye Youssouf arrives from Stars Jeunes Talents with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
The deal with Stars Jeunes Talents is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
AS PSI asked and AS Etat Major said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brahim Goudja was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A season-long audition: AS Algoy still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are AS PSI's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
The deal with AS Algoy is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS PSI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
AS Etat Major have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Idriss Adoum arrives from AS Algoy with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
A new face in his position, and Issa Malloum Issa suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. AS PSI have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AS PSI, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The minutes were not coming at AS PSI, so they will be looked for at CotonTchad. A loan out is not a goodbye, but it is always a question: about the player, or about the plan.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AS Algoy waiting with a shirt. Nobody at AS PSI is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The deal with AS Algoy is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. US Moursal have kept their man, and AS PSI go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mahamat Abakar has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Brahim Ngaradoumbe is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hassan Oumar has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Add another name to the list: CotonTchad have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Joël Djingar. The answer from AS PSI has not changed — yet.