Lyon want some Portuguese lovin’

By: Inara | April 24th, 2007

Now that Lyon’s Brazilian takeover is in full effect, the club is now batting its eyes in the direction of Portugal. And who is Lyon flirting with? Nani, Pepe, and Ricardo Quaresma. Oh, and Simao Sabrosa, of course.

Duh.

Half the Portuguese national team may relocate to Lyon

Aulas has been planning his summer transfer strategy since last September, and despite the fact that they just formally became French champions two days ago, that achievement has been brushed aside as all eyes turn to the future. Normally, Lyon tend to keep quiet about their potential signings until negotiations reached an advanced stage, but it appears that they just can’t keep their excitement secret. Last week, Tiago revealed that the club asked him about Quaresma and Pepe, and then a few days ago, Bernard Lacombe, Lyon’s transfer supremo, professed his love and admiration for Nani in a Portuguese newspaper.

Now that Claudio Cacapa has confirmed his summer exit, Lyon want to replace him with another central defender, preferably one who speaks Portuguese. Pepe is an emerging, young talent who also has a future on his national team (and being a potential international is very important to President Aulas). But since defense isn’t really high priority at the moment, I don’t think Aulas will bat an eye if the Pepe thing doesn’t work out. In fact, I’m still trying to decide if they really want Pepe or are just saying it to sweeten any possible deal with Porto. So if Pepe can’t come, then Younes Kaboul or Sylvain Armand are okay too.

What Lyon does want are wingers. Lots and lots of wingers. Last summer, they tried to land Franck Ribery, Joaquin, Mauro Camoranesi, and yes, even Ricardo Quaresma. But Marseille refused to part with Ribery, Joaquin didn’t want to leave Spain, Juventus wouldn’t part with Camoranesi, and Quaresma didn’t come because Govou ended up staying.

So what about this year?

Nani Florent Malouda is Lyon’s starting left winger, but his departure looks more and more likely, and he’s kind of pissed that no one has been asking his advice on certain situations involving the club. I know I said earlier that his departure would be unlikely, but recently, I’ve been forced to change my mind. Now his remaining is what’s unlikely.

On the right, there is Sidney Govou and Sylvain Wiltord (plus Benzema, though he hates playing as a winger). The rumors about Wiltord leaving grow by the day (more on that tomorrow). As for Govou, it’s hard to tell. For the last three years, he’s been threatening to leave…and then ended up staying. This year, he said he wants to end his career at Lyon…so that might mean he’s going. He has some suitors, and I’ll be honest - I hope he does leave. I may have been a bit harsh with him in this blog, but I’m not a Govou fan. He’s fast, a hard worker, but he does not have a finishing touch.

Potential replacements for these wingers?

At the club right now, there are a few. On the left, there is Hatem Ben Arfa, who is just itching to take over for Malouda. Also, new recruit Nadir Belhadj can play all up and down the left flank. But both are still too raw to be counted upon for the big European matches, and that’s the only thing that matters at the moment.

So that leaves an outside recruit.

For the left, Nani has been mentioned quite a few times. And Bernard Lacombe, whose opinion is probably the most important one at Lyon, adores Nani. Simao has also been an on and off transfer target.

For the right, Ludovic Giuly and Ricardo Quaresma. I’ve already covered Giuly’s possible arrival, so I’ll just add a bit to the Quaresma information. Apprently, FC Porto are asking for about 23 million Euros for their star player. That’s a hefty sum, an amount that Lyon has never paid before (their highest transfer fee so far has been 18 million for Sonny Anderson - and that was back in 1999).

Of the three wingers I listed (I’m not even going to talk about Simao - Lyon looked into it once last year and then realized that they had no chance), Giuly is the most probable target.

He’s 30, French, knocked off the pecking order at Barcelona by young upstart Lionel Messi, and Barcelona want Lyon’s Eric Abidal - so there might be a possible exchange. Even though Giuly says that he wants to end his career at Barca, I think the prospect of not playing next year is frightening enough for him to take another look if Lyon knocks on his door.

Nani is next on the list of likely arrivals. He’s young, not the celebrity his fellow countryman Quaresma is, but is very talented. It’s rare when Bernard Lacombe drools, but Nani is just that special. Plus, his asking price from Sporting Lisbon will certainly not be above the 15 million mark.

As for Quaresma…that would be a fantasy inducing transfer.

Causing Lyon fans everywhere to orgasm simultaneously

But the likelihood of him coming here is slim. First off, Lyon may have a lot of money to spend this summer, but they won’t spend that much on a player of Quaresma’s profile. On a proven striker maybe, but not 20+ million on a winger. Lille’s Kader Keita is a cheaper alternative.

Secondly, there is competition from Manchester United, Inter, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Athletico Madrid. Now, I love Lyon and adore Ligue 1, but even I will admit that playing in the three big leagues is a more attractive prospect. Right now, Quaresma’s at Porto. Lyon would be a step up, but not that much of a step up. Some even argue that the Portuguese Superliga is more interesting and competitive than Ligue 1. UEFA obviously doesn’t agree, but then again, Portugal has three competitive big teams. France just has…Lyon.

Plus, Aulas has promised “big” signings before, and they always turn out to be domestic recruits. Judging by past history, Lyon will probably announce their new right winger to be…Sidney Govou on a new contract. *shakes head*

It’s a shame that the situation sucks because Quaresma and Lyon would be a GREAT fit in terms of playing style. And he would feel right at home in Lyon’s Portuguese and Brazilian community. It’s no secret that the Gerland’s second language is Portuguese (interestingly enough, there are no native Spanish/English/Italian/German speakers at the club). And with Cris, Juninho, Tiago, Fred, and Fabio Santos already on the roster, Pepe and Nani/Quaresma would immediately be at ease.

But that’s little comfort when compared to the dreariness of Ligue 1. So if any player wants to come, they’ll be coming for the Champions League. The domestic league is irrelevant at this point since Lyon will probably win it again next year with its current manpower.