Transfer Window Merry-Go-Round

By: Inara | January 9th, 2008

A lot has been happening in the last few days. I’ve been putting off writing about it like the lazy blogger (I’ve been watching a lot of CNN in the past couple of days because of the primaries), but I finally sat down at a computer long enough to whip out today’s post.

Lyon have certainly been active this January transfer window. Normally, the club don’t like buying and selling in the middle of the year and only do so because of injuries. But this year, it seems Lyon are eager to cut the fat from the squad, so to speak. Most of us disagree with the moves the club are making, but I’ve decided to trust Lacombe and Aulas. They didn’t spend the last 20 years doing nothing. If they think a player doesn’t belong at Lyon, no matter his talent, then they must have some justification.

Confirmed and Rumored Departures:

First, Nadir Belhadj has officially departed Lyon for Lens. This is not a loan but a permanent deal. I regret this because Belhadj was a player with a lot of potential, but he couldn’t break into the starting XI and dislodge Fabio Grosso. Thankfully, Belhadj isn’t angry with Lyon and hasn’t discounted the possibility of playing for them in the future.

Jay over at the Lens Offside is covering things down at his end, so you can read more here. But I will say one thing: it’s a shame that Belhadj didn’t have more patience because if we’ve learned anything in the past year, it’s that patience and hard work do get rewarded. We know he’s a talented player, but he failed to win the confidence of Alain Perrin.

That’s not unsurprising when you consider that last year was his first year in the top flight. He eventually would have broken into the side though. But Belhadj wanted to play right now, and Lyon realized that they should let him go instead of letting him rot on their bench (a la Benoit Pedretti).

There has been another unexpected departure – that of Fabio Santos to Sao Paulo. Thankfully, this is just a six month loan, and he’ll be back by the end of June. It’s also good to know that he didn’t want to leave – in fact, he regrets leaving just as he’s starting to show us what he’s capable of. But his wife is having complications with her pregnancy, and so he had to go to Brazil to be with her. Lyon are being very helpful – I think they’ve learned from the Fred situation that it’s important to help accommodate a player when their families are in distress.

Lyon didn’t want Fabio Santos to leave either. Honestly, I’m devastated by his departure. He’s been fitting into the squad and offering a different set of abilities that complement Jeremy Toulalan’s. I was dreaming of a Toulalan-Fabio Santos-Juninho midfield. Oh well. It’ll have to wait I guess.

Tottenham are certainly feeling ambitious this season. Their new manager Juande Ramos has Karim Benzema on his radar. Unfortunately for Spurs, they have zero chance of landing Benzema. Manchester United, AC Milan, Real Madrid, and Chelsea, all of whom have been willing to put down over €30m+ for a cuptied teenage striker, have already been turned down. And before some of you scoff in disbelief, guess what? Money isn’t everything.

Martha has more on the comments made by Benzema of Milan being a dream destination, but it’s just an old recycled interview. We’ll have to get used to constant speculation involving Benzema from now on.

Fred is also on the verge of departure. More on that here.

Confirmed and Rumored Arrivals:

Cesar Delgado has arrived! He’s at Lyon today to take his medical, and if all goes well, he should be an OL player by the end of the week. The value of his transfer is €10m. Read his interview.

He’s cover for Kader Keita, who is away with the Ivory Coast in African Nations Cup duty, and for Sidney Govou, who is currently injured. The club is also hoping that Delgado will add another dimension to Lyon’s attack. He’s 26, so he has the emotional maturity to successfully adapt to another country. He’ll be the first Argentine at Lyon since the late 1980’s, and it’ll be interesting to see how he settles into such a Brazilian club.

The untimely departure of Fabio Santos means that Lyon need another defensive midfielder. The biggest name being bandied about is that of Lassana Diarra, ex-Chelsea and soon to be ex-Arsenal player.

I do NOT want Diarra. Not only is he cuptied (AKA USELESS – what if Toulalan is injured/suspended in the CL?), but Diarra’s ego is as fragile as Fred’s. Lyon play with only on DM at a time, and for me, Toulalan>Diarra eight days a week. He also has high wages, and Arsenal will command a hefty transfer fee. Thankfully, Lyon think that they have little chance at landing Diarra, which is only a good thing. In fact, I think Diarra is a smokescreen for…

…Marc Crosas. Now, I’ll be honest here. I just don’t get this one. Crosas is also cuptied, and furthermore, he’s a 20 year old Barca youth academy graduate who has made only a handful of appearances for the senior side. According to L’Equipe, he too will be having his medical today, and if all goes well, he’ll also be in an OL jersey by the end of the week.

But Crosas is not a solution to our problems. We need a backup for ALL competitions, a physical, technical, and experienced player who will balance Kim Kallstrom, Juninho, and the back four. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen Crosas play, so perhaps Isaiah or Linda could tell us more. Pretty please?

Apparently, Eric Abidal sang praises of OL to Crosas, who decided to head to France rather than Real Sociedad. Mind you, he’s considered to be the “next best young Spanish thing,” but with Xavi, Deco, and Iniesta in his way, he needs playing time. And Crosas is very talented. But though I’m normally all for young players, but this is really not the time for Lyon to be helping out Barca, their new BFF. For all of Crosas’s talent, he’s too young to scare a flock of pigeons.

Additionally, Barcelona are only offering Crosas on loan for six months (it’s unclear if Lyon will have the option to buy). While the loan option is handy since we’ll be getting back Fabio Santos in the summer, I would hate to see Crosas develop into an amazing player only to have him leave again.

YESSSSSSSSS. Lyon are still interested in Hugo Lloris, Nice’s goalkeeper. Lloris is a terrific player and my pick to become the #1 goalkeeper for the France NT. His contact will end in 2009, so Nice will be looking to cash out. His transfer value is estimated at around €7m. Get him, I say!

Unfortunately, Milan seem to be the front runners for his signature, and frankly, Lloris would be dumb to pick Lyon over Milan (well, maybe not – French players in Italy can’t seem to cement their spots in the national team). So let’s hope Milan pick someone else so that Lloris can come to Lyon and eventually take over for Gregory Coupet.

Lyon haven’t said anything about getting another defender, though I’m sure they plan too. They will probably want someone who can play both as a CB and an LB. Of course, Lyon is denying that they need to replace Belhadj, but I think they will. Lyon’s defense has been a problem all season, and though Coupet has returned, we are still shaky in the back. I would hope that Lyon will also look into getting another striker. While Benzema is a superstar, Milan Baros isn’t, and I don’t feel comfortable with just the two of them. Delgado is a winger, so he can’t fill that position either.

I’m sure we’ll hear more in the coming days…am I missing anyone?