Lyon braced for Benzema exit

The 21-year-old, who has netted 43 goals in 112 league outings for the Stade Gerland outfit, has long been linked with a string of European football's big hitters, including United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Their hopes of bagging the French international - who has featured 24 times for his country, scoring six times - during this close-season appeared slim, after the the player's agent, Karim Djaziri, revealed the youngster would - in all likelihood - only be moving on in 12 months time following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

However, club president Jean-Michel Aulas recently admitted Lyon may be forced to sell their prize asset sooner than expected, should they receive an offer that is too good to turn down.
 
And his words have been backed up by Aulas' advisor Lacombe, who compared Benzema's situation to that of Michael Essien prior to his move from the Stade Gerland to Chelsea for £24.5 million in 2005.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.