Ben Arfa Increasing Likely To Depart Lyon
Haten Ben Arfa is increasingly likely to depart Olympique Lyon in the summer with possible destinations varying from Villarreal to Roma while Marseille as also keen on the winger…
In years to come the 21 year-old will look back on last season and consider just what a strange ten months it was.
During a spell in the autumn and winter Ben Arfa was a key performer for Lyon and appeared to have broken through into the first eleven alongside Karim Benzema however a reported spat between the pair proved the catalyst for an extended spell on the bench.
The talented youngster, who has already won international recognition with les Bleus, received no game time whatsoever in Sunday's Coupe de France final while he played less than half an hour in total during the final four Ligue 1 matches of the season.
Several clubs are thought to be interested in the player with Arsenal reportedly having signed a deal with the Ben Arfa earlier this month. That report proved to be false and now the trio of Villarreal, Roma and Marseille are thought to be leading the chase to sign the French international.
Contact between Lyon and Marseille was confirmed in today's L'Equipe, in which Jean-Michel Aulas explained, "Pape Diouf [the Marseille President] spoke to me last week about it [signing Ben Arfa].
"I said to him that we would not make the same error with Marseilles when we wanted Ribéry [Lyon underestimated Marseille's financial muscle allowing the Mediterranean club to sign the winger] and that if the Marseille were able to bid at the height other clubs then there would be no problem."
Meanwhile, any likely deal with Roma would likely involve a swap deal with their talented Brazilian Mancini, who scored a brilliant goal to help knock Lyon out of the Champions League during season 2006/07.
Robin Bairner, GOAL.COM