The interest from Saint-Étienne in Samuel Kotto is the most concrete. Kotto, a 22-year-old Cameroonian Centre-Back from AA Gent, has become a highly sought-after player and has earned 5 caps for his country. He was unable to establish himself at Gent but drew attention at the Africa Cup in January, subsequently becoming a key player while on loan at French second-division club Stade Reims. Other clubs reportedly monitoring the situation include Brest, Angers, Lorient, Genoa, and Udinese. Stade Reims possesses a purchase option it wants to activate, but this is contingent on the club's promotion to Ligue 1; if they fail to get promoted, Kotto will return to Gent. According to Transfermarkt, the player's current market value is €3.00m. According to reports from January 2026, the purchase option was valued at approximately €4 million.