Lyon nabs Marcal from Benfica in €4.5M deal

Fernando Marcal was widely considered among Ligue 1's best left-backs last season on loan at Guingamp, but apparently parent club Benfica saw it differently, selling the Brazilian to Lyon on Thursday for a modest €4.5 million.

Lyon announced the move with a statement on its website, adding that Marcal, 28, has signed a four-year deal with Bruno Genesio's lot.

With Guingamp, Marcal was a revelation, starting 31 matches in the league coupled with a quartet in the Coupe de France for Antoine Kombouare's Bretons, where the Gremio product combined deft defending with a penchant for getting forward into dangerous positions.

"Marcal is a very interesting player, a complete defender, technical and capable of bringing a lot on the offensive plane," Lyon head scout Florian Maurice said.

"It is with great satisfaction that Marcal chose Olympique Lyonnais because of the many offers he was subjected to."

The addition of Marcal will have the greatest impact on Jeremy Morel, who appeared in 41 Les Gones' contests this season in all competitions, with 33 of those coming at left-back, arguably the club's greatest area of need.

In what should be an upgrade at the position, the Marcal signing also caps off two productive days for Lyon after the seven-time league winner sold Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich for a whopping €47.5 million on Wednesday.