Transfer Bullshit News
By: Inara | August 6th, 2007
Despite the fact that Ligue 1 has already started, absurd rumors still continue to circulate around the Gerland. Most of them are unworthy to be considered valid (that’s you, El-Hadji Diouf), so here is a collection of more palatable transfer gossip.
* Perrin has admitted that he is considering Sevilla champ (and former OL player) Frederic Kanoute but is worried about the financial demands. Kanoute, on the other hand, says that he is open to the idea of returning to Lyon. Having played abroad for so many years, he wouldn’t mind moving back to his hometown, especially since he doesn’t consider Lyon a step down from Sevilla (he won me over when he said that!). Unfortunately, any possible Kanoute business would have to be before Sevilla play in the CL qualifiers, or else he’ll be ineligible to play for Lyon.
Yeah, so basically Kanoute isn’t happening.
* Valencia’s €14m bid for Kim Kallstrom has been rejected (Aulas has said that it will take an insane €25m), so they are now hoping that Kallstrom will stand up to Lyon and demand a transfer. While it was murmured that he would do so, it looks to be highly unlikely as Lyon have told him he isn’t going anywhere (he just got here last year!). However, if the rumors of Real Madrid’s interest in him are also true (they probably aren’t), Lyon will have to work even harder to keep Kallstrom happy. But according to Bernard Lacombe, he should be signing a contract extension soon.
* Former Lyon captain Claudio Cacapa has just signed on with Newcastle United on a free transfer. Good luck, Claudio. We will miss you!
* The battle between Sylvain Wiltord and Lyon has taken another twist today. Apparently Wiltord wanted to go to PSG but was unable to reach an agreement with them, and with Lyon’s current dearth of strikers, he’s been told that he has to stay.
* A crazy rumor has popped up that Roma are interested in Anthony Reveillere (perhaps on the suggestion of Mancini). As much as I appreciate the irony, I wouldn’t take this rumor too seriously. Reveillere recently signed a new contract keeping him at Lyon until 2011. Chris hypothesized that perhaps the tabloids actually meant Francois Clerc, though that too seems rather impossible. Both will be more than what Roma can afford at the moment.
Corinthians don’t want to give up their prodigy for free.
* But I can’t completely write off tenuous links between OL right backs and Roma. Since Corinthians can’t pay €8m in cash to absolve the Nilmar debt, Lyon demanded Willian (plus an additional €1m) as payment. Corinthians, on the other hand, value Willian at something like €20m and have received a very high bid from Shaktar Donetsk. Not wanting to use Willian to pay off their debt, Corinthians may be trying to foist one of their own promising wing backs, Eduardo Ratinho (call him mini-Cicinho), onto Lyon.
The best solution would be if Roma could get Eduardo Ratinho, Lyon keep their own RBs, and Corinthians just pay the hell up because OL don’t really need Willian either.
* Lyon will be meeting with both Fred and Karim Benzema to discuss contract extensions sometime next week.
* The hunt for a backup goalkeeper continues. Remy Vercoutre has been given Perrin’s full confidence, but Lyon’s #3rd choice keeper, Joan Hartock, hasn’t. Since it will be at least four months until Gregory Coupet gets back to fitness, the club have been batting their eyes at Charles Itandje, a talented goalkeeper at Lens who is unwanted by their new manager, Guy Roux. However, Itandje’s agent claims that he is close to signing with Manchester United instead. Except that Itandje is also close to signing with Lyon. So…umm…
Category: Transfers
Tags: Anthony Reveillere, Charles Itandje, Claudio Cacapa, Corinthians, Eduardo Ratinho, Francois Clerc, Fred, Frederic Kanoute, Karim Benzema, Kim Kallstrom, Lens, Lyon, Newcastle United, PSG, Real Madrid, Rennes, Roma, Sevilla, Sylvain Wiltord, Transfers, Valencia, WillianSubscribe
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Comments
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So how did Roma get thrown into this Corinthians/Lyon RB menage a trois?
I don’t think Spalletti wants Eduardo unless he comes very very cheap. They need to start rotating that right wing now, whereas on the left they can wait a year. Panucci is going to be 35 in September and while he’s got very good stamina, he’s too old to rely on 100% of the time in big games. And Roma does have money to buy up Clerc/Reveillere, like 20m or so currently, but they don’t spend it. Nor does a fiscally prudent team seek out doing business with JMA.
And I may be in the extreme majority here, but I don’t think the person who shined brightest was Keita yesterday - it was Kallstrom. Keita is very athletically gifted, but he doesn’t always give the illusion that he’s in control or composed. A good defense would lock him down relatively easily. ManU made him a non-factor last spring. It can be done again. Kallstrom, on the other hand, is very composed and intelligent with athletic skills to boot. I hope he gets moved if only for the fact that he’s on a team playing basically one very meaningful competition and is one of many in a very deep depth chart. He should have more of an opportunity than that.
And by meaningful I don’t mean to discount L1, it’s just that they should win the title easily - albeit a little less easily than last year or the year before…
Posted from
United States
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I just felt like making up a rumor of my own. Actually, I like Eduardo Ratinho and wouldn’t mind him at Lyon. He isn’t polished or anything, but he’s young and has a lot of space to grow. Lyon were interested in him back when Reveillere was considering a move to PSG, but then Reveillere extended his contract, and Clerc said he didn’t want to go anywhere (that’s when those Roma rumors first popped up).
I’m sure Roma could spend a lot of money on a RB, but we all know they won’t. The days of Cassano-esque spending are over (thank god), and for a club that’s rebuilding, it would be silly to waste money when there are cheaper alternatives available. For a club that’s rebuilding, it doesn’t make sense to buy from Lyon.
You made a good point about Keita, but you can easily say the same about many other talented but inconsistent wingers out there - Robben, Mancini, Ribery, Robinho, Quaresma, etc. Keita still needs to work on his game, but that’s why he came to Lyon. The club have so many reliable but non flashy players that it’s nice to have someone who can provide excitement every once in a while.
Believe me, Kallstrom is not unappreciated by Lyon fans (I’m sure I devoted several posts filled with pleas that Kallstrom stay at OL). Unfortunately, he is competing with Bodmer and Juninho for a spot in midfield, and two of the three will have to benched. Lyon normally have one of the deeper midfields in Europe, but since it’s not a “big” club, egos often get bruised. I’m not sure how Perrin will manage that, but I don’t see Kallstrom starting for any team better than Lyon either. He wouldn’t necessarily start at Valencia either. He’s too good for the bench but not quite good enough for a starting spot in most big clubs.
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The days of Cassano-like spending are over, for now. At least until a bright mind comes in to run the club.
My point more on Keita was ball control and body control, as well as mental composure. He just seems erratic to me, which can be a good thing but more often than not is a bad thing. Obviously he’s one of many wingers in this category. He should be a big plus in L1, I just don’t think he’ll be as effective in the CL. Even though I am a fan.
Kallstrom is definitely underrated outside of L1, that much I’m sure of. Though I am sure a big club could find a spot for him somewhere in the starting XI. Who is this question.
Benching 2 out of 3 of Bodmer, Kallstrom and Juninho is L1 is tough to say the least, and I could imagine that’s going to be a very thin line for Perrin to walk. I don’t question so much the acquisition of Bodmer, I question why the hell he agreed to move to Lyon. Unless he was under the impression they’d be playing a 3 man CM before he signed.
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Perrin whole-heartedly embracing the 4-4-2 came as a surprise to everyone, a change he put into motion after all the signings arrived. I don’t think Bodmer would have come otherwise. Then again, I think Lyon was the only club that offered for him, and he was desperate to get a shot at the NT.
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I think E. Ratinho isn´t even a 2/5 Cicinho…, bad trade, but is the only way you may get something from Corinthians, cause cash…will be impossible.
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Well, he’s only 19, so he has time to gain experience and improve. He was doing so well at Corinthians during his breakout season. I remember FIFA did an entire spread on him sometime last year, as he seemed to have really impressed, jumping from the youth squad onto the main team or something. Has his form dropped this year? (I haven’t seen a single Corinthians match since Nilmar busted his knee, so I’m just relying on what I hear from other people).
I feel like Lyon are forcing themselves to choose a player, since they don’t really want one - they are trying to trim down their squad. OL already have two good right backs, and with one at 28 and the other at 23, they are more than set. Willian would have been okay, but Corinthians want a lot of money, and I think Lyon would have to pay an additional seven or eight million on top of the debt. Do they have a good reserve goalkeeper?
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CRAZINESS: According to footmercato (I know), Real Madrid may offer up to 20 million euros for Kallstrom, i.e. the same amount that Milan is willing to offer for Julio Baptista.
Crap, I hope that’s a joke because JMA won’t be able to turn that offer down. And to think, OL bought KK for only 7.5m last year.
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Well Madrid for some reason is looking for a central midfielder. Lucho Gonzalez was touted, now Kallstrom. So it seems like because Valencia was linked with them, then Madrid is now by default? Weird, I honestly dont think Kallstrom will leave, but if Madrid did come a calling I know I would have a tough time turning them down, they are my favorite Spanish team, its why i never spoke out against Diarra’s antics. Anyways, Madrid had been linked with Ballack because the press misquoted Schuster. What Madrid needs is a left/right winger depending on what side Robinho will be on. So i dont see this happening.
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Keeping Kallstrom just got a little bit more difficult
http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/controcampo/articoli/articolo374214.shtml
Milan is now in for him. The article doesn’t say much, just that they see him as the perfect alternative to Clarence Seedorf and he will cost at the very minimum 10m.
It’s still the media, but mediaset gets a lot more credit when it comes to Milan rumors because it is owned by one Silvio Berlusconi, who happens to own some club in Italia.
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Kanoute is unclear…
In So Foot he answered in an interview that he “didn’t want to return to France”, and when asked about what he thought of Lyon he said that they had “ruined his chance as a footballer, both by not playing [him] and by refusing to give [him] an exit ticket” and went on to say that he “dislikes Lyon”, who “put sticks in [his] wheels”…
And what’s even more unclear is that he has repeated quite a few times that for him there are only 3 leagues : Serie A, Ligua 1, Premier League…
So for him to change so radically after 3 months… I’m doubtful, and I call a ploy for his salary negociations with Sevilla.
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Well 10 mil for him is not gonna happen. Auluas wants 20, and if he doesnt get it kallstrom doesnt leave, simple as that.
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Corinthians finacial situation is forcing too much these “jumpings” from young squads (we call it base) to the main team, overpricing some players and transfering others for banana´s price. Actually, the club is doing that in order to pay it monthly debts…I don´t think they have a interesting reserve goalkeeper for you guys..
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Milan too?!?!
How did Kallstrom go from being so underrated to one of the most in demand midfielders in the course of one month? Though what Corey said is true, a 20 million bid is what it will take. Lyon don’t need the money, and with KK still having three years of contract, Lyon are in prime negotiating position. And for 20m, it might be best to let KK go. I’d say reinvest that money into Renato Augusto or something.
Luis Felipe:At this point, I think I’d rather have Nilmar back if I had to choose.
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If Milan wants him that bad, they’ll pay that and they’ll get him. As we know, money is no object to Berlusconi. There’s also that rich Swedish tradition at Milan, especially ’round mid-century, so it could be very appealing to Kallstrom.
And I told you he was the really impressive one against Auxerre, not Keita
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Well see here is the thing, the crap load of money we have and are sitting on should be reinvested in Renato Augususto, not selling Kallstrom. Auluas is really pinching the purse strings if he thinks 20 mill for Kallstrom will allow for my investment in the future, we sold of Aboulida and Tiago, that was a huge chunck of change right there. I veto Kallstrom leaving for atleast 2 years.
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For sure, I agree…
Posted from
United States -
Yeah, but there was a lot of interest in KK before the Auxerre game. Valencia were actually after him before the Peace Cup (a competition in which KK positively shined). Milan and Real are just copycats. In fact, sometimes I get the feeling that the entire world is trying to destabilize Lyon. Grrr.
Corey, I agree. Lyon are no longer a selling club (that is, they don’t need the money but get a lot of it anyway), and I would prefer that we keep KK. However, if he doesn’t sign a contract extension and stays anyway, then next year Aulas may have to let him go for peanuts like he did with Tiago. I think that’s what Aulas doesn’t want to do, though I’m okay with that - but I don’t think Aulas is.
Renato Augusto and Willian want to stay in Brazil another year. Smart kids.
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Chris is right. KK was really the most impressive player against Auxerre. If you have the torrent, just look at him in the first half. He did everything, was everywhere.
Excellent vision of the game, always there to recuperate the ball, awesome passes for wingers… Auxerre Defense couldn’t do anything. That was like panic when Kim had the ball.
If I had to recruit for a big club like Real, Milan or else… I would be on the man. Pretty sure !Posted from
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Shh, Jo, don’t give those big evil clubs any more ideas.
Why is it that Lyon’s midfield is raped every year? With the exception of Abidal and Marlet, all of our biggest outgoing transfers have been midfielders - Essien, Diarra, Malouda, Carrière, Dhorasoo, Edmilson, Tiago…now KK? Who will be next, Toulalan?
Why can’t they just take Fabio Santos instead dammit.
Grrr.
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Why did we take Fabio Santos i think should be the main question… oh and it looks like ill be running the Real Madrid blog in a little while so if everyone could come visit me when im up and running that would be great, ill do my best to put out the Kallstrom rumors.
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Corinthians are running out of time to pay off their debt to Lyon. If they don’t do it by Sunday, they may be relegated to the second - or even third - division. The easiest way would be if they gave up Willian.
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United States -
Yeah I saw that last night, its interesting stuff. Do you honestly think they will pay and/or get relegated? Willian may come but he is worth more then 8 mil to Corinthians so I dont see this being resolved any time soon.
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United States -
Just seen something there!
Is the Nilmar, willian ratinho deal serious!
Ratinho is a fantastic player!! The next big thing for Brazil from from what i have seen and heard!
A right sided roberto carlos!!
Ive never heard of this willian?? Anyone know more about him?
Posted from
United Kingdom
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