Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh insists he will stay with the Ligue 1 champions until the end of the season.
Chamakh has long been linked with a move away from the Stade Chaban Delmas and made no secret in the summer of his desire to play in the Premier League.
Arsenal were one of the many clubs reportedly interested in the 25-year-old and speculation is rife that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is set to make a renewed effort to sign him when the window opens again, with Robin van Persie likely to be absent for the rest of the season.
However, Chamakh claims he is not going anywhere in January.
"I'm going to finish my season at Bordeaux,'' he told France Football. "Honestly, in my head I don't want to relive what I lived through last summer.
"I don't want to see my name circulating during the transfer window. I've had enough of reading or hearing rumours that they are lacking a centre-forward somewhere.''
Chamakh's contract expires in the summer and the Morocco striker will then be able to leave on a free transfer.
A big-money deal is now on the table for Chamakh - last season's leading goalscorer - as Bordeaux attempt not only to keep him at the club but also avoid losing him for nothing. [end story]
Bordeaux have already admitted to not giving Chamakh a proper valuation. Now they're between a rock and a hard place. If they let him go in January, they would have money but they would be missing one of the prime reasons they finished with more points than any other team going in to the final 16 of the CL. If they keep him until summer...maybe they do well in the CL but then lose one of your stars for free in the process...
I'm sure Marouane wants to play for an EPL team for several reasons...one would be much better pay. Another would be more aggressive footy. Obertan said that he liked the EPL better than Ligue 1 because the French teams "seem to play not to lose instead of playing to win..."...that can be very frustrating for a striker. And lastly, he knows that his partner in link-ups (Gourcuff) won't be hanging around Bordeaux forever. If Chamakh signed a long-term agreement (Bordeaux told him he could sign for a year, two, whatever) then he could end up tied to a sinking ship.
Whoever is lucky enough to get him, the other teams should mark him well during set plays...he is deadly with the head!
And now a few photos of Marouane and Gourcuff... ;)
Jean-Louis Triaud (Pres. GdB) during Ligue 1 Championship presentation
Jean-Louis should have been doing this all along to one of his valued players...now he could be kissing 10m euros goodbye!
Awww...I hate to split up the Chamcuff duo
Why can't I take photos like this?
No comments:
Post a Comment