Isaac Lihadji’s contract situation at Marseille has reportedly sparked interest from Premier League duo Arsenal and Spurs.
Marseille youngster Isaac Lihadji has come under fire for his refusal to sign a contract extension at Marseille amid claims that Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are circling, in quotes reported by RMC Sport.
Andre Villas-Boas’s side are sitting second in the Ligue 1 table but not all is well at the Stade Velodrome behind the scenes.
Potential Financial Fair Play sanctions means Marseille may be railroaded into selling some of their star players and the confusion surrounding one of France’s hottest prospects is far from welcome right now either.
According to FootMercato, Lihadji has rejected a £7,500-a-week deal with the former European Champions – not bad money for a teenager who has played 23 minutes of football all season – with London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham looking to take advantage.
And the outspoken former France international Jerome Rothen has been far from impressed by the ongoing saga.
“It is unacceptable that he refuses this contract. The goal when you are trained at a club, is to grow in the club, even more so when you are at a club like Marseille where he had a real chance of being in one of the three biggest clubs of France,” the ex-PSG hero ranted.
“What shocks me is the player. What does he want to do? Already his mentality isn’t good. Marseille, it must make you dream.”
Some of the biggest talents in French football have made their name at Marseille, from Samir Nasri to Boubacar Kamara, Maxime Lopez to Mehdi Benatia. And Lihadji, a jet-heeled winger who loves to cut inside, was expected to follow in their footsteps.
But with L’OM growing tired of the situation and withdrawing his contract offer, it seems that a parting of the ways is the only natural solution to this rather unseemly situation.
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