Both William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi are now set to return to Arsenal at the end of the season.
The pair are on loan with Marseille in Ligue 1, and, with the Guendouzi deal including an option to buy, and Saliba’s performances earning him rave reviews in France, they were expected to try and make both moves permanent in the summer.
However, Marseille are now set to be slappedwith a transfer ban by UEFA, meaning they will not be allowed to buy players for two windows.
It follows the investigation into the transfer of Papa Gueye to the club in the summer of 2020.
The Senegal international joined Watford from Le Havre only to be sold less than 24 hours later to Marseille.
He has now been suspended for four months, whilst the French club face a transfer ban, although they have already signalled their intention to appeal.
As things stand now, both can expect to return to the Emirates at the end of the season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.