Lyon ‘forced to sign player they don’t even want from Nottingham Forest’ – before shipping Arsenal flop straight to MLS

LYON have been forced to complete the signing of Nottingham Forest keeper Matt Turner despite no longer wanting him.

Turner’s move from Forest had been approved months ago by Lyon owner and ex-Crystal Palace stakeholder John Textor.

But it was revealed last week that the French club had hired a lawyer to broker a cancellation of the deal with Forest, after Textor resigned from his leadership roles at the end of June.

L’equipe reports that the American had agreed a deal with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis for the keeper months ago, for around £7million.

Efforts to cancel the switch were unsuccessful and the French giants are now being forced to hand the 31-year-old – who won the FA Cup on loan at Palace last season – a three-year contract.

It has been a turbulent few months for Lyon, after their punitive relegation to Ligue 2 due to financial issues was overturned by the French Football Association.

There has been small exodus of players from the club so far this summer, with Rayan Cherki making a big-money move to Man City, as well as Lucas Perri moving to Leeds and Said Benrahma’s loan move to Neom being made permanent.

Thiago Almada’s loan from Textor-owned club Botafogo has ended – and he has since been sold to Atletico Madrid – while young winger Malick Fofana has been heavily linked with a move to Everton.

In an effort to save precious funds for the rest of the transfer window, Lyon have reportedly arranged for Turner to be sent on loan for the upcoming season.

he will return to his old club New England Revolution in the MLS, with the club taking on his full wages and holding the option to make the move permanent.

Textor’s holdings with Lyon were the cause of Palace’s demotion from the Europa League earlier this year, with Uefa citing a breach of multi-club ownership “integrity” rules.

The Eagles are set to plead their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next week.

Chairman Steve Parish branded the decision to relegate them to the Conference League as “the biggest injustice in the history of sport”.

Palace argue that Textor, who has now sold his Selhurst Park shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, never had “decisive influence” at the club.

Now the Lausanne-based Court has confirmed Palace’s case “versus Uefa, Nottingham Forest and Lyon” will be heard in front of a three-person tribunal on Friday, August 8.

Both Palace and Uefa will be allowed to choose one Judge from the CAS panel, with the chair appointed independently.

CAS added: “No decision will be issued on August 8.

“It is expected that an operative decision (without grounds) will be rendered on August 11, 2025.”

Turner’s current club, Forest, are named in the action because they stand to benefit from the decision.

The Reds, who qualified for the Conference League, will be promoted in place of Palace if the Uefa ruling is ratified.

The Eagles are due to discover their opponents in the Conference League play-off round on Monday – although if they win at CAS, it will see them being replaced in the third-tier competition by Forest.

Ironically, the two clubs are due to meet in the Premier League at Selhurst Park on August 24, a match sandwiched by the two legs of the play-off round.