Olympique de Marseille are seriously considering 21-year-old goalkeeper Ibrahim Gomis for the number-two position this season as the club’s financial difficulties limit their ability to strengthen the squad.
Marseille did not sign a single player during the transfer window and are urgently seeking to raise funds. Their situation was made more difficult by the departure of first-choice goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to Manchester City.
That leaves Dutch goalkeeper Jeffrey de Lange, 28, as the club’s leading option. Behind him, Marseille currently have inexperienced Belgian goalkeeper Jelle Van Neck, 22, and reserve-team goalkeeper Theo Vermot, 29.
With the available choices limited, the possibility of promoting Gomis has become increasingly serious. Insider Mohamed Toubache-Ter said: «Ca pousse fort fort pour placer Ibrahim Gomis en numero 2 dans les buts de l’Olympique de Marseille!»
Marseille have little room to increase their wage bill, making the recruitment of another experienced goalkeeper difficult. Promoting a player already at the club would therefore provide a realistic alternative while allowing the club to manage its financial constraints.
Gomis was born on 20 March 2005 in Perpignan, in French Catalonia near the Spanish border. He is two metres tall and has Senegalese heritage through his father and Moroccan heritage through his mother.
The goalkeeper began his career at Thonon Evian before joining the Dijon academy. He later moved to Marseille, where he gradually became part of the club’s reserve set-up. Gomis remains under contract with Olympique de Marseille until June 2028 and is still listed within the club’s Pro 2 squad.
He also has a significant international achievement on his record. Gomis was part of the Morocco Under-20 generation that won the World Cup at that age group.
A move into the number-two role would represent a major acceleration in his development. It would not mean immediately displacing De Lange, but it would give Gomis the opportunity to train consistently with the first-team squad and move closer to making his senior debut.
He could be called upon if De Lange were unavailable or if Marseille chose to rotate their goalkeeping options. The arrangement would also allow the club to assess a promising young player without committing to the cost of another senior signing.
For Marseille, the promotion would offer one of the few positive outcomes from their current financial difficulties. A transfer-market restriction that has prevented the club from adding to its squad could instead create an opportunity for a goalkeeper developed within the club.
Gomis’s possible promotion would not yet guarantee regular first-team football, but it would place him directly behind De Lange in the senior hierarchy and give him an important platform at a crucial stage of his career.