According to Het Nieuwsblad, AA Gent attempted to sign former Club Brugge defender Aboubakar Sylla from Strasbourg in January but was unsuccessful. Sylla was instead loaned to FC Nantes. Het Nieuwsblad has questioned if AA Gent will make another attempt to sign the defender in the summer.

AA Gent had shown interest in Abakar Sylla, a 23-year-old centre-back who moved to Strasbourg in the summer of 2023 for 20 million and had made just one league appearance in the 2025/2026 season. The player was understood to be open to a return to Belgium, and a verbal agreement for a loan was in place between all parties. However, Chelsea, a top English club that shares an owner with Strasbourg, intervened in the deal. Chelsea's intention was to use Sylla as part of a deal to acquire Tylel Tati from Nantes. As a result, Strasbourg was forced to cancel the agreement with AA Gent, and the Ivorian, whose current market value is €3.00m according to Transfermarkt, was instead set for an unexpected move to Nantes.