Saint-Étienne’s Lucas Gourna-Douath close to joining Salzburg for €15m | OneFootball

As reported by , Saint-Étienne’s young defensive midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath is on the verge of moving to the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg.

Les Verts and RB Salzburg have reached an agreement in principle over the 18-year-old player’s sale after Saint-Étienne were relegated at the end of the season following a play-off defeat to Auxerre.

Under contract in France until 2025 as it stands, the French club have agreed to let the teenager leave for a €15m fee plus a percentage of any profit made on any subsequent transfer of the player away from Salzburg. Both Brighton and Southampton have been monitoring the player alongside side German and Italian clubs, including Frankfurt and Atalanta.

Despite being highly regarded at the club, Gourna has struggled to maintain form over the last two seasons in the Les Verts first team, often dropping in and out of the side. Nevertheless, still a month shy of his nineteenth birthday, the player has managed to tally 65 senior games for Les Verts already, scoring once.