The DFCO let go of one of its best players: its playmaker Yassine Benzia. The Dijon n ° 10 signed up on Tuesday February 8 with the Turkish club Hatayspor (the transfer window in Turkey closes its doors on Tuesday). A loan without an option to buy, confirms the club. He is under contract with the Dijon club until June 2023. “Eager to take up a new challenge, the attacking midfielder and the DFCO had agreed on a possible departure in the event of an agreement satisfactory to both parties”, specifies the DFCO in a press release. A departure that will leave a void, while the DFCO must rebound after their defeat in Toulouse and the reception of Pau is looming on Saturday.
Ups and downs for his Dijon adventure
Yassine Benzia had arrived from LOSC at the end of the winter transfer window in January 2020, wanting to relaunch after a loan to Olympiakos and while the DFCO was playing in Ligue 1. After the stoppage of the championship because of the pandemic, Benzia was seriously injured in May 2021 in a buggy accident. After several operations and a long convalescence, he will finally return to the field in February 2021, participating helplessly in the sinking of the descent.
Last summer, Yassine Benzia had joined the “loft” of Poussots after three days of L2, dismissed pending a departure. New twist, David Linarès is thanked, Patrice Garande arrives on the bench of the DFCO and he revives the “phoenix”. A double against Bastia for the first victory of the season, and Benzia is back in favor with in particular a great goal marked in Grenoble. “I really thought my adventure at DFCO was over”, he confides in September on France Bleu Bourgogne, when he has just been elected player of the month for September. This time, it is well and truly over. This season, Benzia will have finally played 17 matches in Ligue 2, for four goals and two assists.
Who to lead the game until the end of the season?
With this departure, the DFCO loses one of its best players, its technical leader and its organizer on the attacking front. When he was absent, Benzia was replaced in this role of No. 10 by Valentine Jacob. Except that the former Niortais came out injured in Toulouse, hit in the knee. His coach Patrice Garande explained after the match that he feared a sprained knee, which could keep the player off the field for almost a month.
Another Dijon native to be able to hold this position: Bryan Soumaré. Except that the former Sochalien was recently dismissed by Patrice Garande: “I don’t have to explain it to you, he’s training with the reserves and he won’t be training with us.” he explained before the trip to Toulouse. The French transfer window having been closed for a week, the DFCO can no longer recruit. There remains the young Amir Arli (19), holder twice in the Coupe de France and entered the game only once in the league, and the veteran Fred Sammaritano, used in this role of playmaker in the Cup.
The DFCO does have a player of this profile under contract, a “caviar distributor”: Bersant Celina, currently on loan in England at Ipswich Town. Unfortunately for the supporters who are calling for a return of Kosovar, it is impossible: the DFCO could not play him, since the date of registration of a new player is outdated since January 31.