Vultures circle over Lille
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Lille's players celebrate their French Ligue 1 title with the trophy at the end of the French L1 soccer match Lille vs Rennes on May 29 at Lille metropole stadium in Villeneuve d'Ascq. Lille won 3-2. Lille is already beginning to disintegrate after a number of key players have moved to other clubs. Philippe Hugue / Agence France-Presse |
At a time when they should be looking forward to next season's Champions League adventure, fans of French double-winner Lille are starting to worry whether their team will survive the summer intact. Lille ended a 56-year trophy drought last season by claiming victory in both Ligue 1 and the French Cup, but coach Rudi Garcia's history-making squad is already beginning to disintegrate.
France centerback Adil Rami on Monday completed a move to Valencia agreed in January, while his international colleague Yohan Cabaye has joined Newcastle United in a cut-price transfer worth about 5 million euros ($7.2 million).
Lille moved quickly to replace Cabaye by setting up a deal for Auxerre midfielder Benoit Pedretti and negotiations are under way to soften the blow of Rami's departure by making Czech international David Rozehnal's loan move from Hamburg permanent.
Securing like-for-like replacements for Cabaye and Rami would represent shrewd business, but the vultures continue to hover.
Lille's most coveted players are the wide forwards Gervinho and Eden Hazard, who are attracting attention from some of Europe's most glamorous clubs.
Cote d'Ivoire international Gervinho had already announced his desire to leave last summer, but was persuaded to stay and contributed 15 goals and 10 assists to the Ligue 1 success.
He has now re-affirmed his intention to leave the club, however, and Arsenal reportedly has an edge on Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the battle to satisfy his long-held desire to play in the English Premier League.
Paris Saint-Germain, flush with wealth following its recent takeover by a Qatari investment company, have also shown an interest, but Lille general manager Frederic Paquet says he will not be sold to a direct rival.
"We're not against the idea of him being transferred, but only on the condition that everyone is in agreement (on the fee)," Paquet told regional daily La Voix du Nord on Monday.
"Paris made an enquiry recently but we replied that LOSC do not wish to sell him in France."
If Gervinho appears poised to follow Rami and Cabaye through the exit door, Lille is not prepared to countenance the sale of Hazard.
The 20-year-old Belgian attacking midfielder was the sensation of the 2010-11 season, voted player of the season by his Ligue 1 peers after a campaign in which he emerged as one of Europe's most dazzling talents.
A graduate of Lille's youth academy, Hazard is seen as a symbol of the club's future prosperity and his departure would represent a seismic blow to its hopes of defending its titles and making an impression in Europe.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are among the continental heavyweights believed to be vying for his signature but Paquet has asserted that the club's crown jewel is "untransferable".
A key factor in keeping Hazard in northern France will be Lille's ability to demonstrate its ambition in the transfer market, but recent attempts to improve the squad have fallen flat.
The champions has had a bid rejected for Saint-Etienne winger Dimitri Payet and waspipped to the signing of former Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro by PSG, while Pacquet has revealed an enquiry about Sochaux playmaker Marvin Martin was firmly rebuffed.
The only new arrival to date at Lille's state-of-the-art Domaine de Luchin training base is promising 21-year-old striker Ronny Rodelin, who joined on a four-year deal from Ligue 2 Nantes on Monday.
Pedretti, Rozehnal and Lokomotiv Moscow centerback Marko Basa are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks, but Hazard's future is likely to keep the club's fans in suspense all summer long.
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