Aulas doubts Chelsea's "desire" for Malouda
Lyon say Malouda is worth £17m - more than Arsenal received for Thierry Henry
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Tuesday, 03, Jul 2007 04:38
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has raised doubts over whether Chelsea have the necessary "desire" to prize star man Florent Malouda away from the French champions.
The Premiership giants have been linked with a move for the France winger, who is reportedly the subject of a number of bids from several European clubs.
And while Aulas has previously stated that Malouda could well be on the verge of leaving the Stade de Gerland, he believes Chelsea may not be the club to offer the required fee to trigger his departure.
"I said to [Malouda] that I wasn't sure the deal was going to materialise and that it was necessary he went to [Lyon's training ground in] Tignes," he said.
"I am not sure Chelsea have the desire or the means to call out to Florent Malouda.
"[Chelsea chief executive] Peter Kenyon said to Flo he was leaving for Moscow to meet the club's owner [Roman Abramovich].
"Sometimes, things happen quickly but I don't feel these people really want to tie up this deal."
Chelsea have been surprisingly thrifty this summer, with the highest transfer fee paid so far being £200,000 for Oldham 16-year-old Danny Philliskirk, compared with the £30 million the club spent on 30-year-old striker Andriy Shevchenko last year.
Nevertheless, newspaper reports suggest at least one or two major signings are expected at Stamford Bridge before the summer is out, in addition to the free transfer acquisitions of Steve Sidwell, Claudio Pizarro and Tal Ben Haim.