Olympique Lyonnais have completed the signing of Croatian international defender Duje Caleta-Car on a season-long loan for a fee of €1.54 million. The centre-back joins from Southampton as they look to reduce their wage bill following their relegation from the English Premier League at the end of last season.
The twenty-six year old links up with his Croatian international teammate Dejan Lovren at Lyon, in what will be a familiar defensive partnership for the duo if they are selected alongside one another. That may well be the case if Lyon’s young centre-back Castello Lukeba ends up leaving during the summer transfer window. He has been the subject of repeated bids from RB Leipzig in Germany.
Caleta-Car brings plenty of experience to Lyon’s back line following spells in Austria and England, as well as his native Croatia, who whom he has earned 23 international caps. Of course, he is best known in France from his four year spell with Lyon’s bitter rivals Marseille between 2018 and 2022. He made over 100 appearances for ‘Les Phocéens’ so he’ll have to start by trying to win over the Lyon faithful, who aren’t predisposed to view former Marseille players with a large amount of affection.