French Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille made two major moves at the end of the week to strengthen the squad ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Morocco national team playmaker Amine Harit had the purchase option on his loan activated to join OM permanently while Central African Republic star midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia was acquired from Spanish club Atlético Madrid. Kondogbia joins for an €8 million fee and Harit will stay with the club after OM completed the transaction for around €5 million according to French outlet L’Équipe.
Kondogbia, a 30-year-old born in France who initially represented Les Blues on five occasions before changing his international allegiance to the country of his parents, joins after making 93 appearances for Atlético over three seasons. Signed by Atlético manager Diego Simeone as a replacement after Thomas Partey’s departure to Arsenal the powerful central midfielder spent seven seasons in Spain’s La Liga. He has 11 appearances for Central African Republic with 2 goals and is a key part of Les Fauves’ push to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Harit is a creative midfielder who has spent the last two seasons at Marseille on loan from German club Schalke 04. The 26-year-old was enjoying a bright 2022-23 season with the club but suffered a devastating knee injury just before the 2022 FIFA World Cup that ruled him out for the competition as well as the remainder of the Ligue 1 season.
The French-born player reportedly joins on a four-year deal and figures to play an important role if he can recover for the beginning of the 2023-24 season. OM will compete in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League and have their eyes on reaching the group stage again where they finished last in Group D during the 2022-23 campaign. After representing France at the youth national team level, Harit has made 16 appearances for the Atlas Lions since committing to play for Morocco in 2017.
