Latest Transfer Humors

By: Inara | June 18th, 2007

The “June 30th” deadline is fast approaching, which is when Lyon are supposed to be finished with their mercato.

So here’s the latest in Lyon transfer funnies.

OUTGOING:

malouda * Both Chelsea and Liverpool have submitted offers for Florent Malouda. Liverpool is willing to spend €15m while Chelsea topped that with €21m. Take this with a grain of salt though - I can’t imagine Chelsea making a move for him unless Arjen Robben leaves for another club. Also, a Spanish club is interested in Malouda as well (Aulas didn’t specify which one - probably Madrid).

* Eric Abidal’s “open and shut” transfer to Spain has stalled. After Barcelona’s two failed bids, Abidal’s file is now closed. Aulas would prefer to get him to sign a contract extension since there is no better LB for Lyon than Abidal. However, Barcelona’s indifference was a ruse, and it turns out they are still interested. Barca could probably get him at €14-15m, which is actually a fair price (totally not Lyon’s style).

* Juventus are hot and heavy for Tiago (and so is Gigi Buffon). It’s not exactly clear what sort of deal they are hoping to make with Lyon (cash or player+cash), but Aulas has stated that Tiago can leave for €15m. Milan and Barcelona are fighting to sign him, and the deal could happen in the next couple hours.

* Though Werder Bremen and Juventus have been linked with Alou Diarra, Portsmouth is “in the driving seat” after offering €9m. I’m not sure why he wants to go to Pompey, but apparently he likes the EPL (and the paychecks). UPDATE: Diarra does not want to go to Pompey. He only wants to leave for a bigger club (that is, bigger than Lyon). Yeah, Alou. You’ll get sooo much playing time at Juve.

* Juventus also tried to pry away Cris until they realized that two to three transfers from Lyon would drain their entire summer budget.

* Lazio would like to fill the vacancy left by Massimo Oddo by poaching Francois Clerc. Keep dreaming, Lazio.

* Sylvain Wiltord will be leaving the club. I mentioned the Nino Ruckus a few weeks back (Wiltord and eight of his teammates had a hotel orgy party…that, and he got into a fight with Gregory Coupet after macking on his wife…but it’s all just idle gossip, and I have no confirmed sources whatsoever).

Says Jean-mimi:

“Sylvain will leave. He crossed the yellow line. We are not discussing a transfer with him but a departure. We could even cancel his contract.”

Ouch.

I feel like Wiltord’s partying ways are more of an official excuse to get him out of the club than anything else, especially since it hasn’t affected his performance on the pitch. If something did happen between Coupet and Nino, it explains why Coupet took an awfully long time before signing his contract extension (he “nearly” signed for West Ham). I’m not surprised that Aulas is pissed off. About ten years ago, Pascal Olmeta and his BFF Jean-Luc Sassus got into a fistfight after Sassus slept with Olmeta’s wife. End result: both got transferred the hell away from Lyon.

I don’t think Lyon will get rid of Wiltord the way PSG got rid of Vikash Dhorasoo, but it’s obvious that Aulas doesn’t want him on the team next year. It’s unfortunate because Wiltord has been an immense player for Lyon since he arrived from Arsenal. He’s one of the club’s most decisive players, and he’s a leader both on and off the pitch for Lyon and for the France NT.

* For today’s non-Lyon transfer rumor that’s too good to pass up, Juventus and Roma are in the race for Liverpool’s Craig Bellamy. Apparently, Roma are even willing to offer Stepover King Mancini in exchange. Haha, I guess those writers on Fleet Street had a little too much fun playing drunken scrabble. As if either of those clubs would go for the waste of space that is Bellamy. Bellamy would be a good signing should Juventus want the Serie C title to go along with their A’s and B.

INCOMING:

With three new players in the ranks (Belhadj, Bodmer, and Keita), Lyon are pretty much done with their mercato. However, there might be one more signing - THE MYSTERY PLAYER. I asked my readers who they thought he could be, and everyone had different suggestions! Aulas’s tactic of confusing us with 100000 fake tracks has obviously worked. Lyon’s been recently linked with midfielders Mauro Camoranesi and Renato Augusto, and now with an assortment of full backs - Sylvain Armand, Bakari Sagna, and Patrice Evra!

I don’t even know where to start guessing. So I won’t even try.