In civilian clothes, Gaëtan Laura remains glued to his phone, his face closed, while his Paris FC teammates are on the field to prepare for the late match in Auxerre this Tuesday (7 p.m.). A little further, Khalid Boutaïb, the striker from Le Havre (L2) is in the club’s offices with his agents. A few hours before the transfer window closed, Paris FC experienced a lively afternoon which resulted in a crossover between the two attackers. Boutaïb signed for a year and a half and Laura, whose departure was finalized over the weekend, was loaned with option to buy to Cosenza, currently 17th in the B series in Italy.
“Boutaïb will bring us a little more presence in front of the goals”
On January 17, Boutaïb scored his 5th goal of the season with Le Havre against… Paris FC at Le Mans (2-2). Fifteen days after this match, the 34-year-old Moroccan international (20 caps, 8 goals) was transferred (for compensation of around €500,000) to the Parisian club by Le Havre, which therefore agreed to strengthen its direct competitor for the climb. Rather strange… But Thierry Laurey recovers a “talisman” attacker for him. When the Parisian coach moved up to L2 with Gazélec Ajaccio then to L1 with Strasbourg, his center-forward was indeed called Khalid Boutaïb. In Alsace, he finished 2nd scorer in L2 in 2017 (20 goals). Boutaïb returned to France in Le Havre in 2020 after experiences in Turkey (Malatyaspor) and Egypt (Zamalek) where he had experienced payment problems.
“It’s a profile that we did not have in the workforce and the locker room, welcomes Thierry Laurey. His age is not a problem. Experience is priceless and he started his professional career late. Of course, I know him well and I’m delighted to have him with us now. He is a charming guy who has a sense of the collective and who knows how to make efforts for others. He is an axis player, but he can help out under the attacker or on the sides. With him, we can play 2 or 3 in front. He will allow us to keep the ball high and bring us a little more presence in front of the goals. Even if we have the 3rd attack, I consider that we lacked efficiency in several matches. I dare to believe that he will sort things out for us. »
Laura’s attitude was starting to annoy internally
In the other direction, Gaëtan Laura will therefore leave, which may seem like a small mess. The L1 clubs which followed this atypical profile, totally disconnected from the world of football and which refused any interview, are no longer there… Despite her promises, especially in the summer, Laura has stagnated and has not managed to turn a corner in terms of ‘efficiency. A monster of speed and power, he saw his playing time decrease after a thunderous start to the season (3 goals in the first 4 days). Facing Lyon in the Coupe de France in the only half played, he showed his best face and scored a pretty fantastic goal. But his flashes were becoming more and more rare and his attitude was starting to annoy the staff. At Paris FC, he is criticized for his difficulties in being part of a collective project and his individualism. Friday in Dunkirk, it was again disappointing. During a meeting in early January, he had expressed the wish to leave. Paris FC had refused a transfer offer from Vicenza (series B) but therefore found a solution that suits all parties with this loan with option to buy.
Things went more simply with Saïd Arab who joined Corsica on Monday. Arab (21), very little used this season (2 games) after a promising first year (27 games, 3 goals) in L2 with the PFC, was loaned to Bastia-Borgo, 17th in National but in full recovery since the return to the bench of Stéphane Rossi. After having been disturbed by personal worries in recent months, the former Red Star midfielder will try to relaunch in Corsica. He is under contract until June 2023 with Paris FC.