Image courtesy of Goal.com
French side Lyon, who are suffering from a league title drought in recent years, look like they’re about to lose another one of their stars. This time, it could be midfielder Clement Grenier.
The 22-year-old, dubbed as the “French Kaka” and an under-19 European Championship winner in 2010 with France, has been linked with Arsenal in the past and the rumors have resurfaced in recent weeks.
Then, it was confirmed by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that the Gunners were tracking the Frenchman as he spoke to Telefoot: “We are following him. His intelligence of play pleases me. He has interesting qualities. He reminds me of Nasri.”
With Arsenal scout Gilles Grimandi in the stands for Lyon’s game against Rennes last night, Grenier proved why he was such a hot prospect with his second stunning free-kick — reminiscent to Lyon legend, Juninho — in less than a week, which confirmed Lyon’s place in the Champions League qualifying round.
Speaking after the game to Canal+ about Arsenal’s interest, Grenier responded: “My decision will remain with me tonight. We’ll celebrate & look at that later”, while the Lyon midfielder reportedly smiled when asked about Grimandi’s presence in the stands.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas was quick to warn Arsenal on Canal+ that they would have to pay big for the 22-year-old.
“Clement said to me that he will give priority to Lyon if we qualify for the Champions League. So I prefer [to listen to] what he said, rather than what Arsene Wenger said. But, we have to make a financial effort to keep him. We will see after the level of our effort [that we have to do]. If Arsene wants to have an idea of Grenier’s price, I will tell him that it is the same as what Bayern Munich paid for Mario Gotze – around €37 million.”
With Grenier’s contract running out next summer and the possible aspect of him wanting to leave, it is highly unlikely that he would cost Arsenal that much, and the latest news from Maxifoot suggest that Wenger will be meeting Frederic Guerra, Grenier’s agent, today. It looks like Wenger wants his summer business done early.
