Striking Options Narrow For Marseille As Advances Rejected

Like the January sales, when the transfer market opens at the beginning of the year clubs generally do not find exactly what they were looking for but manage to get something approximating what they were after. Unlike in the packed shops, football clubs rarely find a bargain and often end up paying over the odds for an item they were never really certain they wanted in the first place.

Although Olympique de Marseille president Pape Diouf has already warned that his club will buy on their terms this January, it seems that the options open to OM’s supremo are closing by the minute.

Yesterday, rumours that Henrik Larsson could make a surprise move to the south of France were quashed by the veteran Swede’s wage demands while, today, the trails of Racing Club Lens striker Toifilou Maoulida (pictured) and Le Mans forward Anthony Le Tallec both appear to have gone dry.

Lens president, Gervais Martel, was keen to impose that Maoulida will not leave that Stade Bollaert this summer as les Sang et Or attempt to negotiate their way back to Ligue 1 after last season’s crushing relegation. “I have clearly stated that nothing can separate us from our players as we chase promotion,” he explained to La Provence.

Martel’s counterpart at Le Mans, Henri Legarda, has made similar comments relating to Le Tallec, echoing Caen’s stance on veteran striker Steve Savidan, who Marseille were also pursuing.

Standard Liege forward Milan Jovanović still remains favourite to join the Mediterranean club in the transfer window with the aim of becoming Éric Gerets’ ‘killer’.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com