Jorge Sampaoli has admitted it’s a “possibility” Florian Thauvin could leave Marseille after Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United expressed interest, in quotes provided by Tuttomercatoweb.
It has been reported Sampaoli has been desperate for some time to get the World Cup-winning winger to commit his future to the Ligue 1 giants.
With Thauvin out of contract in a matter of weeks, however, Andre Villas-Boas’ replacement appears to be fighting a losing battle.
On Thursday, L’Equipe reported West Ham had made their interest known in a player who has bounced back impressively from a miserable spell at Newcastle United.
Crystal Palace and Leicester City have also held talks with Thauvin, while Tottenham have identified the left-footed right-winger as a potential replacement for Gareth Bale in north London (Estadio Deportivo in March).
And Sampaoli has broken his silence for the first time, admitting Thauvin may be about to bid farewell to the Stade Velodrome.
“I spoke to Florian today. He told me about this possibility (that he could go). It is up to him to talk about his future and to say if he will choose this option,” the former Argentina, Chile and Sevilla boss explains.
“He is a player we count on a lot – he’s a pillar of this team. He knows it too, but there are things in football the coaches cannot control.”
Thauvin certainly has unfinished business in the Premier League. He fell well short of those lofty expectations at Newcastle after all.
But there appears to be a real chance the 28-year-old will be plying his trade in a very different environment next season.
TMW claims Mexican outfit Tigres, six years after completing the shock signing of his former Marseille teammate Andre-Pierre Gignac, have offered Thauvin a five-year deal worth £85,000 a week.
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