Jack Wilshere could be prepared to let Lamine Fanne leave before the January transfer window slams shut tomorrow evening, amid reports of an exit, admitting a solution may need to be found that suits both club and player.
The 22-year-old midfielder was left out of the squad for yesterday’s 1-0 League One win over Blackpool, with his absence coming amid reports linking him with a move to Italian Serie B side Venezia.
With the transfer window about to enter its final 24 – it closes at 7pm on Monday night – Wilshere played down suggestions that Fanne’s absence was linked to discipline or attitude, which had seen him dropped earlier this month.
But he did not shut the door on a potential exit, which could see Fanne leave after just a year with the Hatters’ side, though he was initially signed in summer 2024 from Swedish top flight side AIK and loaned back to them for six months.
When pressed on whether he would like to keep Fanne at Kenilworth Road, the Town boss said: “I’m open. I’m open with Lamine.
“It depends also on what else is available, right? Lamine is someone who I’ve spoken a lot about when I first come in. He helped me get my first win. He played in a role that really suited him.
“We changed the team a little bit. We went almost from a 4-2-4, where he was a guy on the last line and being aggressive to then a four-plus-one, and we wanted two pocket players, where he probably fits in between that sort of six and eight role, and we only had one in Walshie [Liam Walsh] there.
“He’s someone that I like, but he’s also at an age where he wants to play, he needs to play and we need to find the right solution for both.”
Asked whether Fanne was wanted by other clubs, Wilshere added: “There’s interest, of course there’s interest, because he’s a good player and there’s interest in a lot of our players. And let’s see, let’s see what happens.
“I think we want the best for us, but we also want the best for Lamine and let’s see what happens.”
But Wilshere explained that Fanne’s omission against the Seasiders yesterday was down to tactical balance and squad needs, rather than any lingering fallout from being dropped after the defeat to Swindon in the Vertu Trophy.
“We spoke about Lamine after the Swindon game, [saying] ‘you weren’t in the squad’. It’s nothing to do with that. He attitude has been spot on since then, and he’s trained really well.
“Sav [George Saville] was left out of the squad last game and with Liam [Walsh] being ill, I wanted to put Sav in because he’s, in my opinion, more of a six than Lamine.
“Kasey [Palmer] played there, but also knowing that Kasey needs to play more games to be able to last games and I knew that we would need Sav at some point.
“We had Jake [Richards] as the option to come inside. So, yeah, nothing [like last time]. He’s been training well and he’ll be training again on Monday.”
Yesterday saw the departure of popular centre half Christ Makosso as he joined former Town boss Matt Bloomfield at Oxford on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to buy. Striker Jerry Yates also left on loan to join Sheffield Wednesday this week, while Milli Alli joined Portsmouth until the end of the season.
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