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Islam Slimani

Islam Slimani was signed by Olympique Lyonnais in the January 2021 transfer window to bolster the squad’s attacking options in the light of Moussa Dembélé‘s departure on loan to Atletico Madrid.

The thirty-two year old Algerian international striker arrived on a free transfer from English Premier League club Leicester City on an eighteen month contract, having cost the English club £27.9 million back in 2016.

After a promising first season with the Foxes, Slimani became increasingly marginalised and was farmed out on loan to Newcastle and Fenerbahçe with equally disappointing results. However, a subsequent loan spell in Ligue 1 with AS Monaco in 2019-20 rekindled his form and revived his reputation somewhat as he plundered nine goals and provided several assists.

That spell in Monaco and the fact that he was available for free made him an attractive prospect for the OL recruitment team and his attributes as a striker should nicely compliment the existing options in the Lyon front line. He will bring a more physical presence to the attack and offer more of an aerial threat than Depay, Kadewere or Toko Ekambi, permitting Lyon to ask some different questions of opposition defences.

Slimani began his career with amateur club JSM Chéraga in a suburb of his native Algiers and his goal-scoring exploits in the lower echelons of the Algerian football pyramid soon earned him a move to CR Belouizdad, one of the capital’s big clubs.

His four seasons with Belouizdad in Algeria’s Ligue Professionnelle 1 brought 9th, 5th, 4th and 6th placed finishes in the league table and a consistent return for Slimani in front of goal. It was during this period that he made his debut for the national team as a substitute in a friendly against Niger in May 2012. He opened his account for the Fennecs in a World Cup Qualifier against Rwanda a week later and has gone on to score 29 goals in 68 appearances, making him second in the all-time top scorers list for Algeria behind Abdelhafid Tasfaout.

Slimani’s burgeoning reputation earned him a move to Sporting Clube of Lisbon in Portugal in summer 2013. He spent three full seasons in the Portuguese capital, winning the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) in 2015 and the subsequent Super Cup. He picked up the man of the match award in the cup final, having scored in normal time and again in the penalty shoot-out victory over Braga.

The 2015-16 season was when Slimani, aged 27, was at the peak of his powers. His return of 27 goals in 33 league games spearheaded Sporting’s title push and, whilst they ultimately missed out by two points, finishing second behind Benfica, his performances were making waves across Europe and it was Leicester City who won the race for his services.

He has struggled to recapture that sort of form during the past four seasons and, at 32, his spell at Lyon could be his last chance to make an impact at one of Europe’s top clubs. His best years may well be behind him, and he hasn’t scored a competitive goal in over eleven months, since netting for Monaco against Montpellier in February 2020, but he has hardly played since then, in part due to the pandemic, and could still be a useful addition to Lyon’s squad.

He joins up with his international team mate Djamel Benlamri in Lyon and the pair can reminisce on their Africa Cup of Nations triumph of 2019, which counts as the biggest prize of Slimani’s career to date. He made three appearances during that tournament, scoring a goal in the group stage against Tanzania, and penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out win against Côte d’Ivoire. However, he was only deployed as a late substitute in the final against Senegal.

Date of Birth: 18/06/1988
Place of Birth: Algiers
Nationality: Algerian
Joined OL: 13/01/2021

Previous teams:
JSM Chéraga (2008-09)
CR Belouizdad (2009-13)
Sporting Clube (2013-16)
Leicester City (2016-21)
Newcastle United (Loan) (2018)
Fenerbahçe (Loan) (2018-19)
AS Moncao (Loan) (2019-20)

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Rugby Players Breach Covid Bubble

The thoughtless actions of twelve rugby players have caused a match between England and the Barbarians to be cancelled at short notice. The match was due to be played at Twickenham on Sunday (25th October 2020) but has been called off because the group of players, who were supposed to be in a bio-secure bubble, went out to a pub and restaurant during the week.

The irresponsible dozen left their hotel to dine at an Italian restaurant in central London on Wednesday night and it later emerged that several of the players had also gone for drinks in a pub the previous evening. The escapades came to light after a picture was posted on social media and the group was sent home in disgrace, having jeopardised the safety of their team mates and future opponents.

The stupidity of the players was rightly condemned from all quarters and hopefully they will face severe disciplinary measures. They were all well aware of the Covid code of conduct and yet brazenly chose to ignore it, setting an appalling example to children and to the long-suffering general public as a whole, who have to endure and respect the restrictions of various tiers of lockdown.

The match was due to be shown live on Sky Sports, but now they have a hole to fill in their schedule, so let’s hope they show something more wholesome and family-friendly than an unsavoury rugby match. Ideally some proper football!

Lyon v Monaco Preview

Olympique Lyonnais face AS Monaco on Sunday night in the closing match of the eighth round of fixtures in Ligue 1. The game kicks off at 21:00 local time and will be shown live on BT Sport 1 in the UK (kick off 20:00 GMT).

Lyon go into the match at close to full strength with the only doubts concerning Belgian centre-back Jason Denayer, who felt a muscle twinge in training during the week and left-back Melvin Bard, who may not have fully recovered from his calf injury. Bruno Guimarães is back from his one match suspension, served in the 3-2 win at Strasbourg last weekend, whilst midfielder Maxence Caqueret and reserve goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck return from their Covid-19 isolations.

It is the first time since the close of the transfer window that coach Rudi Garcia has a near full-strength squad from which to choose, so we should start to get an idea of his intended first eleven for the remainder of the season, and how the new arrivals will fit into it. The main intrigue surrounds the shape of the midfield and who will get the nod now that Guimarães, Caqueret, Aouar, Thiago Mendes, Jean Lucas and new signing Lucas Paqueta are all in contention for central midfield berths.

Whatever the selection, the pressure is on for Lyon to beat Monaco and register consecutive wins for the first time this season after a disappointing start to the campaign. In the last meeting between the two sides, Lyon ran out 3-0 winners in the principality in the first match of last season. The return fixture at the Groupama Stadium never took place due to the abandonment of the end of the Ligue 1 season caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, so Monaco’s last visit dates back to December 2018, when they were also beaten 3-0 in a Ligue 1 fixture.

Monaco currently sit one place and one point above Lyon in the Ligue 1 table, but they have hit poor form in their last few matches after a draw and two wins in their first three outings. Their two most recent away trips saw them lose at Rennes and Brest and they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Montpellier last time out, so they may be there for the taking.

Djamel Benlamri

Algerian international centre-back Djamel Benlamri joined Olympique Lyonnais at the end of the summer 2020 transfer window as a free agent, having bought out the final nine months of his contract with Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia.

He was recruited primarily to provide cover for first choice central defensive partnership Jason Denayer and Marcelo, after Joachim Anderson and Marçal left the club during the same transfer window. Along with the rapidly emerging talent of Sinaly Diomandé, his arrival brings the complement of centre-backs at Lyon back up to four.

A few months shy of his 31st birthday, Benlamri is making his first foray into European football, having spent the entirety of his career thus far playing in his native Algeria and in Saudi Arabia. Born in Algiers, he began his career with local club Nasr Athletic Hussein Dey and spent three seasons yo-yo-ing between the top two divisions with them.

His performances earned him a move to Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie in Tizi Ouzou and he became a pillar of their defense for three seasons as they finished 7th, 2nd and then 12th in the Algerian Ligue 1. IN summer 2015 Entente Sportive Sétifienne paid around €50,000 for his services but he only spent one season at the Sétif based club, finishing 5th in Ligue 1 and winning the Super Cup before moving on to Al-Shabab.

Benlamri began his career as a fullback and has also played in central midfield but it was during his time in Saudi Arabia that he was converted to centre-back, with much success. The change of position brought about a call-up to the Algerian national squad and he made his debut for Les Fennecs in November 2018 against Togo.

The following summer he was an integral part of the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 in Egypt, playing all of his country’s matches apart from the opening game and helping to keep a clean sheet in the final against Senegal. He now has fourteen international caps to his name.

His four seasons in the Saudi Pro League saw Al Shabab finish between fifth and tenth in the table without any decent cup runs so the 2015 Algerian Super Cup aside, the only time he has come close to winning any domestic honours was back in 2013-14 with JS Kabylie when they were runners up in the league and cup.

Given Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance, it looks unlikely that he’ll be able to get his hands on any silverware with his new club in France, and his lack of European experience suggests that he’ll be little more than a bit-part player at Lyon, although his record with Algeria shows that he is a competent defender who should be dependable when called upon.

Date of Birth: 25/12/1989
Place of Birth: Algiers
Nationality: Algerian
Joined OL: 04/10/2020

Previous teams:
NA Hussein Dey (2009-12)
JS Kabylie (2012-15)
ES Sétif (2015-16)
Al Shabab (2016-20)

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Postscript

Benlamri left Lyon in July 2021 after a single season at the club in which he made 8 appearances and scored one goal. He returned to the Middle East, signing for Qatar SC on a free transfer, and moved back to Saudi Arabia a year later, joining Al-Khaleej, also on a free transfer.

Mattia De Sciglio

Mattia De Sciglio is an experienced Italian international fullback who joined Olympique Lyonnais on loan from Juventus for the 2020-21 season. He made his Lyon debut as a 73rd minute substitute in the 3-2 away win at Strasbourg on the 18th of October 2020.

He was brought in just before the summer transfer window closed in order to provide cover for Leo Dubois at right-back because Lyon had released their only other senior right-backs, Rafael and Kenny Tete. De Sciglio’s versatility means that he can also fill in at left-back when required and even do a useful job in the centre of defence.

This adaptability makes him an ideal addition to the Lyon squad for the season, as they parted company with several other defenders over the summer to leave themselves looking quite short in that department. De Sciglio will be able to deputise for anyone across the back line when they fall victim to injuries and suspensions.

At twenty-eight years of age, De Sciglio should be at or approaching his peak as a defender, but his career appears to have stalled somewhat over the past year at Juventus. He only made six starts for them in Serie A last season, plus two each in the Coppa Italia and Champions League and hasn’t played a full ninety minutes in a competitive match since the fifteenth of December 2019 against Udinese.

In fact, he has never really managed to recapture the heights of his first full season as a professional at AC Milan back in 2012-13 when he burst onto the scene as a promising twenty year old. He made 33 appearances in all competitions that season, including 25 starts in Serie A and was selected for the Serie A team of the year.

He also made the jump up from the Italian Under-21 team to the full national squad during that season, making his debut in a friendly against Brazil that finished 2-2 in Geneva in March 2013. By the end of the summer he had accumulated eight caps for his country, including four at the Confederations Cup in Brazil, where Italy finished third.

That success all came rather suddenly for the locally born lad, who had joined AC Milan aged ten and had only made five first team appearances (three starts) prior to that campaign. Unfortunately, his 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons were blighted by injury which meant that he was unable to reproduce the form he had shown in his campaign and he only managed to feature in about half of Milan’s matches. However, he did still make the Azzurri squad for the 2014 World Cup.

De Sciglio’s next two seasons at Milan under the management of Siniša Mihajlović and then Vincenzo Montella were a lot more consistent and he once again featured in the majority of their fixtures, as well as in Euro 2016 for Italy. His return to form prompted Juventus to pay €12 million for his services in July 2017.

He enjoyed a trophy laden three seasons in Turin, winning Serie A each time, plus a Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup. However, he was never quite able to nail down a first choice spot in Juventus’ star-studded squad, playing under a third of their league games in his first and third seasons there, and just over half of them in his second, and most consistent, campaign for the Old Lady.

Despite his lack of regular first team action during several periods of his career, De Sciglio has consistently remained a part of the national team squad and has racked up 39 caps to his name, appearing at least once for them in every year since his debut, apart from this year so far. That run could be about to come to an end as it looks unlikely that he’ll be recalled before the end of 2020 unless he gets an immediate run of games at Lyon or Italy suffer a sudden injury crisis.

It remains to be seen whether he can force his way into the first team at Lyon or if he will be regarded as a squad player there too, as is often the curse of the versatile utility man. One certainty is that he’s unlikely to be troubling the Ligue 1 goalkeepers too often. He has just the one goal to his name in well over 200 career appearances. His solitary strike came in November 2017 for Juventus in the 60th minute of a 3-0 Serie A victory over Crotone.

Date of Birth: 20/10/1992
Place of Birth: Milan
Nationality: Italian
Joined OL: 04/10/2020

Previous teams:
AC Milan (2011-17)
Juventus (2017-20)

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Lucas Paqueta

Lucas Paqueta made his debut for Lyon in a 3-2 win away at Strasbourg on the 18th of October 2020, playing alongside compatriot Thiago Mendes and Housseam Aouar in central midfield. At €20 million, he was the club’s marquee signing of the preceding transfer window, making the move across the Alps from Milan just a few days before the deadline for new signings.

Paqueta was brought in to address a lack of creativity in the Lyon midfield, which had seen them struggle to find the net in the first few games of the new season. He was deployed on the right of a midfield three in his first appearance for his new club, and contributed as much defensively as he did going forward, but is primarily known as an attacking midfielder and may ultimately be deployed in a more advanced role.

He is looking to reignite a career that began so promisingly at Flamengo in his native Brazil before stuttering somewhat after his €35 million move to AC Milan in January 2019. He never really established himself as a mainstay of the Milan team during his twenty months at the club and rarely completed the ninety minutes, either being introduced from the bench, or substituted when he was in the starting line-up.

He left Milan having accumulated a tally of forty-four appearances in all competitions, twenty-nine of them as a starter and fifteen from the bench, with his only goal for the Rossoneri coming against Cagliari in just his forth appearance for the club back in February 2019.

Paqueta may find himself more at home in Lyon, where he is now one of five Brazilians on the current playing staff, which includes his former club mate from Flamengo, Jean Lucas. The two of them have a good understanding on the pitch and Lyon will hope that they can bring out the best in one another if they are deployed together. Indeed, Lyon now have the intriguing potential to field an all-Brazilian four-man midfield.

Paqueta forged his reputation at Flamengo, in his native Rio de Janeiro, having joined the club as a ten year old boy. He made a couple of brief substitute appearances in minor competitions as an eighteen year old in March 2016 but had to wait a further year before finally integrating the first team squad for good at the start of 2017, which was to be his breakthrough year.

He began 2017 as a key part of Brazil’s team at the South American Under 20 championships, and then made six appearances (five off the bench) in the season opening Carioca Championship and scored his first two senior goals as Flamengo went on to win the competition, although he didn’t feature in the final. He did feature and indeed score in the final of the Copa do Brazil, which Flamengo lost on penalties to Cruzeiro after the tie finished 1-1 on aggregate.

Paqueta became a regular in the Serie A team in the second half of the season as Flamengo finished sixth and really made a name for himself in Flamengo’s run to the Copa Sudamericana final. He made nine appearances in that competition, starting both legs of the final against Independiente and scored two goals, including one in the second leg of the final, which they lost 3-2 on aggregate.

In 2018 Paqueta was an established regular at Flamengo and scored ten goals in Serie A as the club finished second in the table. He was voted into the Serie A Team of the Season at the end of the campaign and made his Brazil debut in a friendly against the USA, coming on as a substitute for Philippe Coutinho. By now he was hot property and attracting a lot of attention in Europe, so Milan made their move.

Despite his form dipping somewhat in Italy, Paqueta remained a part of the seleção and scored his first goals for his country in 2019 in friendlies against Panama and South Korea. He also made the Copa America squad and picked up a winners medal, although his only appearance in the tournament came as a substitute in the quarter-final penalty-shootout win over Paraguay.

He hasn’t featured in a Brazil squad yet in 2020 but will be hoping that regular game time in Lyon will help him rediscover his best form and get back in the national team picture. He is also eligible to go to the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics as part of Brazil’s Under 23 squad.

Date of Birth: 27/08/1997
Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro
Nationality: Brazilian
Joined OL: 30/09/2020

Previous teams:
Flamengo (2007-19)
AC Milan (2019-20)

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Toko Ekambi decisive in unconvincing win

Lyon returned to winning ways on Sunday with a narrow victory over Strasbourg to earn a much needed three points that lift them into the top half of the Ligue 1 table. It was a topsy-turvy match that looked to be all over before the interval, only for Strasbourg to fight back and give Lyon a late scare.

New signing Lucas Paqueta was handed a debut in midfield in a 4-3-3 formation with Memphis Depay operating as the central striker flanked by Karl Toko Ekambi and Tino Kadewere. It was an attacking setup that brought immediate dividends, finally ending Lyon’s long run without a goal in open play from an attacker.

Depay, as ever, was at the centre of all Lyon’s best moves and he was a constant source of problems for the Strasbourg defence. It was the Dutchman’s through ball that released Kadewere in the twelfth minute and the Zimbabwean striker eagerly fired home his first ever Ligue 1 goal with a low shot from the edge of the box, although goalkeeper Bingourou Kamara should really have saved it.

The second goal was again served up on a plate by Depay, and this time the beneficiary was Cameroonian striker Karl Toko Ekambi, who raced into the six-yard area to hammer home Depay’s sumptuous cross from the right wing in the 26th minute. Ekambi was once again in the right place to apply the finish to another Lyon attack as the first half drew to a close. This time Depay latched on to a great through-ball from Thiago Mendes but couldn’t quite engineer a shooting opportunity for himself as he was forced wide by the goalkeeper before finding Ekambi to slot home from close range.

At that point the result looked like a foregone conclusion, but it’s never that simple with Lyon these days. They contrived to give away a goal just a minute later when Anthony Lopes could only parry a shot into the path of Strasbourg substitute Habib Diallo, who made no mistake when presented with an open goal. Ten minutes after the interval Lyon were pegged back to 3-2 when Jean-Eudes Aholou found the net for the hosts. Lopes had just produced a fine save but Denayer was unable to to clear the ball to safety and suddenly Strasbourg were right back in the game.

Moussa Dembélé came off the bench and should have wrapped the game up when he intercepted an ill-judged backpass from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to find himself one-on-one with the ‘keeper, but he tried to go round him and went too wide, allowing the retreating defender to block his eventual shot.

It was a nervous last half hour for Lyon as they tried to hang onto their lead. There was a debut for defender Mattia De Sciglio, on for Leo Dubois at right-back, and the Juventus loanee was immediately forced to make a vital tackle as last man to thwart a Strasbourg attack. His timing was impeccable as he just got a foot on the ball to take it away from his opponent at full stretch when any error would have lead to a certain red card.

Both teams had further chances to alter the score, but in the end Lyon were just about worthy winners and will hope to back this result up when they face a similarly struggling Monaco next time out.

OL Féminin 4-0 Guingamp

Lyon consolidated their lead at the top of the French Division 1 Féminine with a crushing 4-0 victory over Guingamp in front of around 750 fans in Décines. It was their sixth straight win in their opening six matches of the season and their fifth clean sheet.

Amandine Henry set them on the way with a headed goal in the 37th minute and it stayed that way until mid-way through the second half when substitute Amel Majri doubled their advantage. From then on Les Fenottes were on easy street and Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir made it three a couple of minutes later, before Majri got her second of the game ten minutes from time.

Coach Jean-Luc Vasseur can reflect on an excellent start to the season for his team as the players disperse for the international break. Their next fixture is not until the end of October when they visit Montpellier.

Strasbourg v Lyon Preview

Lyon travel to Strasbourg on Sunday in desperate need of a win in order to kick-start their season, having taken only seven points from their opening six Ligue 1 fixtures. They are winless since the opening day rout of Dijon.

Strasbourg could be ideal opponents in that respect, as they are in even worse form, having lost five of their six Ligue 1 matches so far and Lyon won 2-1 away at the Stade de la Meinau in the equivalent fixture last season.

Lyon coach Rudi Garcia knows that his job could be on the line if he fails to get a quick improvement from his team and he’ll hope that the chance to call upon a trio of his new signings for the first time will make a difference.

The three players who were signed just before the close of the summer transfer window could all feature for the first time in Strasbourg. Brazilian attacking midfielder Lucas Paquetá could inject some much needed creativity into the team and defenders Mattia De Sciglio and Djamel Benlamri will also be available to bolster the options at the back.

However, a cluster of Covid-19 cases at the club could play havoc with Garcia’s preparations for the match. Maxence Caqueret, Anthony Lopes, Leo Dubois and Julian Pollersbeck have all reportedly tested positive. That presents a potential goalkeeping crisis as Lopes and Pollersbeck are the only two senior ‘keepers at the club.

If neither of them is available then Togolese international goalkeeper Malcolm Barcola may have to be called up from the reserves. Caqueret looks likely to miss out and the match may come too soon for Dubois as well. Young left-back Melvin Bard is also absent, having picked up a calf injury on international duty with the French U21 squad and Bruno Guimarães is suspended for receiving three yellow cards in the previous six matches.

Most of the absentees will be back by the following weekend, but this short-term selection crisis has undeniably come at a bad time for Garcia given the pressure to turn things around on the pitch. The international break means that he has had precious little time to work with his new signings and it will be a patched up team that takes to the field in Strasbourg. Lyon should still have enough quality to beat the Alsatians, but the same could have been said about most of their opponents thus far this season.

International break round-up October 2020: Lyon players

Plenty of Olympique Lyonnais stars were in action around the world during the October 2020 international break. Here’s a round-up of how they got on.

Sinaly Diomande and Maxwel Cornet

The big news was that Sinaly Diomande made his international debut for the Ivory Coast. It was his first call up to the squad and he ended up playing the full ninety minutes of both their friendly matches. His debut came against Belgium at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels, where he played alongside Ismael Traoré and Eric Bailly as part of a back three in a 1-1 draw. Five days later he faced Japan in Utrecht, this time alongside Bailly and Odilon Kossounou in defence as The Elephants lost 1-0 to an injury time goal. His club mate Maxwel Cornet was alongside him in both matches at left wing-back, also completing the full 180 minutes. These fixtures against such high quality opposition will be an invaluable experience in the development of Diomande, who has now played more than twice as many minutes of international football as he has at club level, where he still has just 87 minutes spread over three appearance to his name.

Houssem Aouar

Another international debutant was Houssem Aouar, who received his first full cap for France in a 7-1 rout of Ukraine at the Stade de France in Paris, having had to withdraw from the previous squad due to a positive Covid-19 test. He started the friendly match in midfield, alongside former Lyon team mate Corentin Tolisso, teenage prodigy Eduardo Camavinga and Steven Nzonzi. Aouar was replaced by Antoine Griezmann in the 59th minute with Les Bleus leading 4-1.

Memphis Depay

Memphis Depay played the full ninety minutes for the Netherlands at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam as they lost 1-0 to Mexico in a friendly before travelling to Bergamo to face Italy in a UEFA Nations League match. He was again in the starting line-up and got the assist for Donny Van De Beek’s equalising goal to make the score 1-1 in the twenty-fifth minute. That’s the way it stayed and Depay remained on the pitch until he was replaced by Ryan Babel in injury time.

Jason Denayer

Jason Denayer played the full ninety minutes in both of Belgium’s UEFA Nations League matches against England at Wembley and against Iceland in Reykjavík. On both occasions we was part of a three man defence alongside Dedryk Boyata and Toby Alderweireld. They lost 2-1 against England to a soft penalty and a wildly deflected winning goal but reversed the scoreline in Iceland.

Karl Toko Ekambi

The Cameroon striker played the full ninety minutes of his country’s goalless draw with Japan at the Stadion Galgenwaard in Utrecht, ploughing a lonely furrow up front on his own. Ekambi was unable to add to his tally of three international goals.

Others

Maxence Caqueret played the last quarter of an hour of France U21’s 5-0 victory over Liechtenstein at the Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg, coming on as a substitute for Boubakary Soumaré of Lille. It was already 5-0 at the time of his entry. Bruno Guimarães was an unused substitute in both of Brazil’s World Cup Qualifiers against Peru and Bolivia and still awaits his first international cap. Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes and right-back Leo Dubois had to withdraw from the Portugal and France squads respectively due to positive Covid-19 tests and Caqueret tested positive after his U21 appearance and had to leave the squad.