Grass Roots Recruiting

By: Inara | November 30th, 2007

By mid-November, transfer speculation is normally furious as newspapers wonder who will be entering and exiting the Stade de Gerland during the winter mercato. Last year, names like David Trezeguet, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and Nicolas Anelka were bandied about on a daily basis.

But this year, Lyon are taking a different approach. They aren’t looking for the tested and tried. They aren’t looking for Balloon D’Or candidates. Instead, they are looking for future investments and backups. And this time, they are taking their search to “obscure” clubs such as Cruz Azul and FC Zurich. Not that these clubs are actually obscure, but we French tend to be elitist.

So who is on Bernard Lacombe’s list?

Cesar “Chelito” Delgado of Cruz Azul. Chelito is an Argentine striker who is on the fringes of the national team. From what I understand, he’s considered overrated at times, and at 26, he might be too old to make the jump to Europe. But that was the age Juninho, Fabio Santos, and Cris came over from Brazil, so what do I know.

Cesar Villaluz of Cruz Azul. Villaluz is a star in the making. A midfielder, he’s hella talented and turned in some great performances during the U17 World Cup. Naturally Arsenal have their greedy eyes on him already, but Villaluz could be the answer to Juninho’s eventual retirement. But that’s what they said about Renato Augusto, so I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Rodrigo Palacio of Boca Juniors. This rumor has quieted down in recent weeks, and for that I’m glad. Boca is asking for 15m+, which is too much for someone who will be playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema. This year, Palacio hasn’t done well anyway, so he’s the riskiest buy on this list (plus he’s 26 and has a rat-tail).

Ezequiel Lavezzi of Napoli. I’m not sure if Lyon are still actively interested in this guy. He’s talented and has attracted the notice of other big clubs, and from what little I’ve seen of him, he might not be a good fit for Lyon.

Yassine Chikhaoui of FC Zurich. He’s another young talent, and at 21 years of age, he’s still young enough to be molded to Lyon’s specifications. A striker, he played really well against Toulouse today in the UEFA Cup, and rumors are that Lyon are prepared to offer 5 million euros for his services.

Jaime Gavilan of Valencia. He worked his way up through Valencia’s youth ranks and is considered to be a talent, but he’s having a hard time getting first team action because of Vicente and David Silva. He’s an old fashioned left winger, and Lyon are considered to be the front runners of his signature.

Now, you’ll notice two things from this list. First of all, none of these players are Brazilian. That’s a big shock because I can’t remember the last time an Argentine/Mexican/Spaniard played at Lyon. Secondly, these are all attackers. I would have preferred to see some young, promising defenders, but we have a few more weeks before the transfer window opens. I’ll be patient.

Another thing to keep in mind is that for any of these players to arrive, someone has got to leave. Since most of these players hold non-EU status, either the club is expecting Cris’s Portuguese citizenship to come through or one of the Brazilians will leave. So let’s go over the most likely departures.

Milan Baros – Probable. I think this is obvious. He’s been “injured” quite conveniently for the past few matches, and though both Baros and Lyon are denying a winter departure, it’s looking more and more like it’s on the cards. It also doesn’t help that his speed off the pitch isn’t matched by his speed on the pitch.

Fabio Grosso – Possible. Again, both the player and the club are denying winter movement, but Grosso has failed to impress for Lyon. He is improving, but he’s not the quality we need back there. Word on the street is that he’s having a hard time adjusting to France. Aulas is stubborn and likes the idea of having a World Cup winner on the squad, but I think it’s time to let him go. Valencia are interested in trading Gavilan + cash for Grosso. I say go for it.

Nadir Belhadj – Possible. He’s a good player. Very good. But for some reason, he hasn’t inspired the confidence of Alain Perrin, so he’s rusty from not playing. He’s been unhappy, and given his talent, he has quite a few suitors.

Fred – Possible. He’s been out injured for an awfully long time, and it’s been hard for him to return to his form of early last year. It also doesn’t help that he’s lost his starting place to a 19 year old. But he’s improving, and Perrin has vowed to be patient until Fred starts scoring again.

Sidney Govou – Unlikely. The claims of Govou’s agent that he wants to play for Roma had me raising my eyebrows. We all know Sid. Every year he makes noises about leaving, but he really just wants fatter contracts. He turned down a very good offer from Atletico Madrid last year, and I don’t see him wanting to go to Roma. Govou has been at Lyon for his entire life, and it’s more likely he’ll end his career here. Unless of course a club like Barcelona were interested. But Govou is too inconsistent to get picked up by a giant like that.

Looking over this list, I think I’d be happy to see Baros leave and perhaps a young striker coming in. But that’s it. Otherwise, for the first time in a long time, Lyon are set offensively, and given our means, the club can’t get any better. Our midfield is one of the better ones in Europe, and even if Real Madrid and Juventus offered Mahamadou Diarra and Tiago back for free, I would say no.

Defense is a worry, but it’s too late to bring in a defender because Cris will be ready to return and Gregory Coupet should be fully reinstated by January. I would like to see a better left back come in, however. If Rangers beat us again, we could take theirs. Or we could wait a few more years and get Eric Abidal again, who wants to end his career at OL.

Blegh. Someone tell him that we don’t like whiny bitches at Lyon. Thanks.