Reported Everton target Valere Germain has confirmed he will leave Marseille this summer and wants to prove himself in a new league, speaking to Canal Plus, translated by FootMercato.
At the age of 31, that nagging wanderlust feeling can becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The hard-working Germain has spent his entire career in France, making his name at Monaco, scoring for fun in Nice and enjoying four years at the Stade Velodrome.
But, with his Marseille contract expiring in July, the 2017 Ligue 1 champion has his heart set on a new challenge in a new league.
Across the Channel, perhaps?
A few weeks ago, L’Equipe reported Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton are willing to offer Germain a belated chance in the Premier League. The former France U21 international also has admirers in Italy and Spain.
And, with his contract about to expire, Germain feels like the sort of low-cost, high-reward addition that’s tailor-made for covid-era football.
“I don’t want to stop (playing), I want to start again with a great project. It was a great experience in Marseille, I really enjoyed it and we’ll see what the future holds for me,” says Germain, the industrious foil for a fresh-faced Kylian Mbappe in that thrilling Monaco side of a few years ago.
“I hope to discover a foreign (league) because it would be a beautiful experience. Discovering a new championship, I think it can be interesting for me and my family.
“We’ll see. I don’t know where I’ll be next year yet.”
Germain has failed to make it off the bench in each of the past seven Ligue 1 fixtures, with new Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli preferring to use January signing Arkadiusz Milik in a lone striker role.
“There may be a slight regret about this Marseille spell. I never really played in my preferred system. Now, OM are doing well so there’s no reason for the coach to change the system,” Germain adds.
“I understand very well that, as long as OM wins, that’s the most important (thing).”
Putting the side before himself. Typical Germain, really.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
