Ligue 1 side Lens President Gervais Martel announced Thursday that he is awaiting a payment of €2.5M ($3.1M) from the Bank of Azerbaijan that "will allow the club to recruit again very soon," according to SPORTS.FR. Lens "should have recovered €4M ($5M) on Oct. 31, which was promised by shareholder Hafiz Mammadov," in order to reassure the French National Directorate of Management Control, which is responsible for monitoring the accounts of French professional football clubs, that the club has the money to recruit. However, only €1.5M ($1.9M) had arrived on that date. According to Martel, the missing €2.5M ($3.1M) “should arrive between the 17th and 20th of November” and is a sum that will be paid “directly by the Bank of Azerbaijan.” Martel: “This was all controlled by French and Azerbaijani lawyers. These are guarantees that are worth more than words and some writings.” Players Samuel Atrous, Benjamin Boulenger and Landry N’Guemo, who are already training with the team, could then be signed if "the money is collected as expected" (SPORTS.FR, 11/6).
