Marseille winger Florian Thauvin is being tipped to leave by one of the club’s former managers, and Aston Villa should be all over it.
What’s the story?
Reports earlier in the summer suggested that Villa had entered the race to sign him along with fellow Premier League side Leicester, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the deadline.
Now, former Marseille boss, Franck Passi, has added further fuel to the fire, suggesting that the world’s current climate could force the Ligue 1 side’s hand. He said: “To recover five or six million euros at Christmas and lose a player who can bring (the club) to the Champions League, this is not understandable.
“So OM cannot recover €40m or €30m which would solve their financial problems. And I do not even know if they will be able to reinvest this sum in another player of the quality of Thauvin.”
Better than Bertrand Traore
Having signed Bertrand Traore from Lyon in the summer transfer window, there may be some raised eyebrows as to why Villa would want to go after another right-sided winger from the French league.
After all, the Burkina Faso international has hardly lit up Villa Park since his arrival, scoring just once in seven games, and not even starting a single Premier League game all season – in fact, the most he has played in the top-flight, was 29 minutes against Southampton.
Thauvin on the other hand, continues to be one of Marseille’s most dangerous players. Described by European football expert, Andy Brassell, as being a “left-footer with fine acceleration and jaw-dropping close control”, the Frenchman has smashed in 81 goals and provided 56 assists in 249 total games for the club.
This season has seen him score three times and set up five others in just 12 games, including netting the match-winner away at Paris Saint-Germain. Thauvin is a consistent performer who does it in the big games, and he quite frankly puts Bertrand to shame. Villa could get themselves an absolute bargain by going back in for Thauvin.
The post Aston Villa summer target Florian Thauvin tipped for Marseille exit first appeared on FootballFanCast.com.
