Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas isn’t surprised to see reported Leicester City and Aston Villa target Florian Thauvin dominate gossip columns with only a few weeks until the January transfer window opens, reports MilanLive.
With the World Cup winner admitting talks over a contract extension have yet to get under way, it looks more likely than ever that Thauvin will be a free agent by 1 July.
At least when his time at Marseille comes to an end he will leave the Stade Velodrome with a chapter in the history book of one of France’s biggest clubs.
With an impudent flicked finish in L’OM’s 3-1 Ligue 1 triumph over Nantes on Saturday, Thauvin became Marseille’s most prolific goalscorer of the 21st century, netting for the 72nd time since joining from Newcastle United.
A return to the Premier League could be on the cards in 2021 too, with Brendan Rodgers asking Leicester City to bring the £18 million-rated winger to the King Power Stadium (Calciomercato).
An Aston Villa side that was made to pay for its lack of ruthlessness during last night’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham are another option (TMW).
“Thauvin? The contract is expiring and therefore he is an option for many,” Villas-Boas explains.
AC Milan technical director Paolo Maldini confirmed on Friday the Serie A leaders were interested in luring Thauvin to Italy, perhaps hoping Marseille would be under pressure to sell in January as they look to avoid losing a star player for nothing (Telefoot).
Villas-Boas, however, was far from impressed by Maldini’s public proclamations.
“Maldini’s words are a bit out of place. He was not kind to us. What would happen if we met Milan in the Europa League?”
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