Olympique de Marseille signed Luiz Felipe Ramos last winter with the aim of reinforcing their defense. However, a series of physical problems have significantly limited his ability to contribute to the team this season. Juventus had also been monitoring the player, and it appears they may have narrowly avoided a problematic transfer.
On January 7th, Pablo Longoria and Mehdi Benatia took a calculated gamble by bringing in the 28-year-old central defender Luiz Felipe Ramos from Saudi club Al-Ittihad. The Italian international had been dealing with physical issues for several months in the Saudi Pro League. Despite this, Olympique de Marseille was optimistic about quickly restoring the former Lazio and Sevilla player to full fitness. Since joining OM, Luiz Felipe Ramos has seen minimal action, playing only 75 minutes in Ligue 1 (split between 12 minutes against Nantes and 63 against PSG) and an additional 45 minutes with Marseille`s reserve team in National 3. For the Bianconeri, this situation looks very much like a danger successfully averted.