Bordeaux Consider Approach For Arsenal’s Mikael Silvestre - Report

Souleymane Diawara’s transfer from Ligue 1 champions Girondins de Bordeaux to Olympique de Marseille grows increasingly inevitable, leading head coach Laurent Blanc to scour the continent to find a suitable replacement for the Senegalese international at centre-back, and a report in L’Equipe suggests he is studying Arsenal’s Mikael Silvestre.

Karim Aklil, Diawara’s agent, has stated that it is “just a matter of hours” before his client’s move to OM is completed, heightening the haste with which Blanc and his staff are undertaking their work.

Lille central defender Adil Rami, who has been called into the national unit previously, has been specified as one target, while Michael Ciani, a powerful centre-back with Lorient, has been cited as another potential recruit. However, Blanc is aiming for “a left-sided central defender with experience of the Champions League” – a description Silvestre would appear to match.

Bordeaux chased for the 31-year-old last season, but they ultimately could not afford his wage demands. Bolstered by their title success and guaranteed Champions League football next season, it is possible that he could be drawn away from his north London employers, for whom he has featured only intermittently in the first team.

Marko Basa of Lokomotiv Moscow is another potential target, however, his wage demands of €2.5 million-per-year have apparently forced the Aquitaine club to reconsider.

Meanwhile, president of Bordeaux, Jean-Louis Triaud, has been left frustrated with the manner in which Marseille have approached Diawara, criticising the Provence club for talking to the 30-year-old defender without les Girondins’ permission, according to news agency AFP.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com