Lyon Sign Bodmer and Keita

By: Inara | June 14th, 2007

Lyon’s first two official signings have been formally announced by the club. They are Mathieu Bodmer and Abdul Kader Keita, both from Lille. The financial details haven’t been public, but word on the street is that Bodmer was €8million and Keita was €16-17million.

The club will hold a press conference this Saturday at 11 AM (5 AM if you’re in Boston, like me) to present them to the media, officialize their signings, etc.

Some details on Bodmer and Keita:

Bodmer Name: Mathieu Bodmer
Age: 24
Position: Midfield
Previous clubs: Évreux, Caen, Lille

Bodmer is France’s most talented midfielder not named Juninho. How Lyon got him at €8million I will never know, and why other clubs haven’t come after him is stranger. He’s pure gold, and unlike a lot of other French midfield prospects, has two years worth of CL play under his belt.

His continued exclusion from the France NT is a source of bafflement to us all, but I think it partially has to do with the fact that Bodmer played for Lille, and Raymond Domenech has always been an elitist. But he might have a genuine chance now.

Bodmer was Lille’s highest goalscorer this year, with eight goals, as well as numerous assists. He’s France’s most complete midfielder and any coach’s wet dream. He can play as a DM, AM, and even as a support striker. He has all the qualities you can dream of: strength, passing, dribbling, long distance shots, heading, leadership, etc.

He’ll probably be replacing Tiago, whose departure is inevitable at this point. As much as I love Tiago, I think Bodmer is the better talent, so I can’t be too sad. If anything, I think Bodmer’s presence will add more dimensions to Lyon’s midfield play than ever before.

Keita Name: Abdul Kader Keita, “Popito”
Age: 25
Position: right winger
Previous clubs: Africa Sports, Etoile du Sahel, Al Ain, Al Sadd, Lille

Keita is a truly gifted winger, quite similar to Ribery, in fact. He has a lot of pace and is great at dribbling, so he’s able to break through another team’s defenses quite easily and creates a lot of chances. He’s a very flashy and tricky player, and when he’s on the pitch and on form, he becomes the center of attention.

Like Bodmer, he’s sadly unrated outside of France because of what I call the Ligue 1 Handicap. Most people don’t see Keita play unless it’s in the Champions League, but when he’s noticed, he’ll inspire his fair share of oohs and ahhs. Many people in France actually rate Keita as better than Ribery and Malouda, but I think that might be premature. Can Keita be better than those two? Definitely.

His arrival means that Lyon’s right wing is very crowded. Right now, Govou, Wiltord, and Remy play in the position, and Benzema sometimes as well (Aulas has hinted that Wiltord should leave).

Keita has now become the club’s second highest signing (the first still remains Sonny Anderson in 1999 at €18million. Fred is third at €15mllion, then Tiago at €10million). It’s rare when transfers within France are that expensive, as most French players are relatively cheap unless they’re from Lyon. So people shouldn’t think that Lyon buying Keita is because they can’t get foreign targets or because they want to destroy their competition.

I honestly think that Lyon would have gone for Keita no matter where he played. The club’s wish for a talented right winger has been obvious for a few years (not that Govou isn’t talented, but Keita is better). Just one thing to watch out for: Keita, like all brilliant players out there, is not the most consistent of fellows. He’ll play well for several games and then play crappy for several others. So I hope time and discipline at Lyon will change that.