Arsene Tries to Poach Another Baby, Plus Other Rumors

By: Inara | April 3rd, 2008

The latest transfer rumors involving Lyon…and for once, they don’t involve either Karim Benzema or Hatem Ben Arfa!

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There is something tres tres disturbing about Arsene Wenger’s fixation with young boys. When was the last time he even looked at someone over the age of 21?

Wenger, who was going a tad overboard with his constant poaching of Barca’s youth academy, has returned his focus to his homeland, and his newest victim is Clement Grenier, who plays on Lyon’s U16 team.

He’s so young he hasn’t even made OL’s reserves yet!

Anyway, Grenier, who has been dubbed the “new Kaka” (probably by my favorite tabloid, The Sun), hasn’t yet signed a professional contract with Lyon, which makes him easy pickings for Wenger and his band of vultures.

Now, I don’t know if Grenier is the “new Kaka,” but it’s clear that he has immense potential. Lyon have been keeping tabs on Grenier’s progress and intend to offer him a pro contract, and they also told Arsenal to piss off, but unfortunately, there is little Lyon can do about Arsenal’s interest.

The only thing we can hope for now is that Grenier – and his parents – look at the situation with clear heads. The fairytale story worked with Cesc Fabregas but failed with many others. One only has to look as far as Jeremie Aliadiere to see what happens when Wenger gets it wrong…

Michel Platini, hurry up with your reforms!

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It looks like Fabio Santos won’t be returning from his loan to Sao Paulo. I guess this is Lyon being practical – we have no more non-EU spots since we’ve purchased Ederson and Cesar Delgado. It’s too bad because I liked Fabio Santos and thought he played well with Jeremy Toulalan. Hopefully, we’ll be able to recoup his transfer fee at least…

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Lyon’s other Fabio has been dragged around in the rumor mill as well. Juventus have once again expressed interested in Fabio Grosso. However, his agent said that Grosso has no intention of returning to Italy anytime soon since he’s happy and well-adjusted (and well paid) at Lyon.

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Gregory Coupet is once again linked to a move abroad. Like you guys didn’t see this one coming from a mile away. Coupet has always wanted one last foreign adventure, and he’s aware of the fact that other leagues like the EPL trust older goalkeepers more than in France. Coupet has always been interested in a stint in the MLS as an adventure, though if rumors of AC Milan’s and Lazio’s interest are true, he might find himself Calcio-bound. Or maybe even Premiership bound to Arsenal, who’ve been interested in Coupet before.

However, Coupet said today that he can still see himself playing at Lyon for another two or three seasons, and that he’ll talk to the president about it. That might be a moot point since the general feeling at the club is that they want to bring in a young and very talented goalkeeper (named Hugo Lloris). Coupet hanging around for another three years isn’t in their plans.

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Will Loic Remy be coming back to Lyon? His good performances with Lens give weight to his desire to play a more active role at Lyon, and he’s made it quite clear that he doesn’t want to return if he has to ride the pine once again. While he hasn’t excluded the possibility of staying at Lens, the problem is that Lens might be relegated, and in that case, he’ll have to consider other options. Another stumbling block is his €10m buyout clause, which is a huge sum for the other 19 clubs in L1, who might think twice about paying so much for a kid who’s only had half a season at continuous playing in the topflight.

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Lyon have been interested in John Mensah for quite some time, though in recent weeks, that interest has escalated. Mensah is one of the best CBs in France, and though he’s served Rennes faithfully, at 25 years of age, he might want a change of scenery. However, as things stand, Mensah’s preferred destination is the Premiership.That news should be very welcome to Harry Redknapp, who is hoping that Portsmouth midfielder Sully Muntari will prove to be a big enough lure for his BFF, Mensah.

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Edit: Lyon have also been linked with Michael Chretien, a right back at Nancy. According to Chretien, there has been nothing concrete with Lyon, just the beginnings of interest. Chretien has more solid contacts with clubs abroad. And apparently, Nancy will be asking a lot of money for him. From the Lyon perspective, I don’t think this rumor is as serious as the others simply because we already have Anthony Reveillere and Francois Clerc, neither of whom look like they’ll be leaving anytime soon.