Saturday, 13th August, 2011
French champions Lille are hoping to take Gael Kakuta on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season.
Kakuta spent the second half of the 2010/11 campaign with English side Fulham and is again not expected to receive the minutes on the pitch required for his development at Stamford Bridge this season.
Fulham, now managed by former Ajax coach Martin Jol, are keen to snap up the young forward on loan once again, but Lille are hoping to present a more interesting option for the 20-year-old.
The northern French side face a number of challenges to their title this season, with Marseille under Didier Deschamps expected to be strong, Paris Saint-Germain building a team of Galacticos at the Parc des Princes, and perennial big boys Lyon tipped to improve on last year’s third place.
And Lille therefore require extra depth to their squad, depth that Kakuta could help to provide.
Lille boss Rudi Garcia has managed to keep hold of the highly rated Eden Hazard this summer, but suffered the loss of Ivory Coast forward Gervinho to Arsenal, while Yohan Cabaye also left, for Newcastle.
Kakuta could be counted upon often at the Ligue 1 champions and Chelsea may agree that a switch across the channel, with Champions League football thrown into the mix too, is better for his development than another stint at Craven Cottage.
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