An update on Yann Massombo

What happened:

On Friday, Massombo refused to board the team bus with his teammates for the away match in Graz. Neither the coach nor his teammates could change his mind.

A move to SK Sturm Graz is on the cards. It is said that there have been several talks with head coach Fabio Ingolitsch, who knows Massombo from their time together at Altach. This includes talks on that very Friday morning before departure, as Altach announced.

During and after Saturday's match in Liebenau, the Massombo case was the number one topic of discussion. In Altach, former coach Ingolitsch is primarily accused of having held talks with a contracted player without prior agreement.

Altach coach Ognjen Zaric said the following during the match: "For me, respect is very, very important. But if I then hear from the team that a coach, in the presence of other players, contacts this player (Massombo, editor's note) a day before the game, then that does not represent my values. I think that is very, very bad."

Ingolitsch himself pleaded innocent but confirmed on "Sky-Mikro" that he had held talks with Massombo: "I believe that no transfer in this world will come about if a player doesn't speak with a coach."

What happens next?

Due to the statements made by the Sturm coach, Altach felt compelled to examine further steps.

The reason? An opposing coach is only permitted to hold contract talks with a player without the consent of the releasing club if the player has less than six months left on their contract.

However, Massombo is still bound to the Vorarlbergers until 2027, including an option for another year.

What options does Altach have now?

The situation is tricky for Altach. The club now has three options on how to proceed with Massombo.

The club sells the player in this transfer window
The club benches the player
The club tries to reintegrate the player into the team

Option number one is probably the most obvious at the moment. This way, Altach can generate a transfer fee for a key player from last season and simultaneously have the opportunity to make further additions in the transfer market.

Option number two would be the most expensive for the club. Massombo would neither bring a transfer fee nor help sportingly this season.

And option number three would probably be the most difficult. After the incident before the away match against Sturm, the relationship between Massombo and the club, as well as within the team, is strained. A return to the team is therefore unlikely to be easy.

Even in the days following the away match in Graz, Massombo was not on Altach's training ground, according to LAOLA1 information.

What is Sturm doing?

And then there's SK Sturm. Both coach Ingolitsch and sporting director Michael Parensen have repeatedly emphasized their interest in the Frenchman.

The reigning vice-champions are still looking for a replacement for Ryan Fosso. Nevertheless, a move by Massombo to Murstadt is anything but certain.

A few days after the Bundesliga match against Altach, a rumour emerged from Switzerland that the "Blackies" were interested in Valmir Matoshi, a midfielder from FC Thun.

For Massombo, this would probably be the worst-case scenario. One way or another, it is clear that he has lost a lot of goodwill with his strike. What happens next is currently more than open.