Friday, 2nd September, 2011
Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac could have ended up part of an astonishing swap deal that would have seen Sunderland forward Asamoah Gyan move to France on transfer deadline day.
The French giants had agreed to allow Gignac to join Fulham on a season-long loan, but were forced to pull the plug on the deal when their own target, Juventus striker Amauri, backed out of a proposed move to the Stade Velodrome.
Gignac was quickly recalled to France, though there was a possibility of the striker having to get back on a plane for England almost at once as Sunderland contacted Didier Deschamps’ side.
With talk swirling around that Black Cats’ striker Gyan wanted to leave the Stadium of Light, the English Premier League club contacted Marseille.
"In reality Sunderland wanted to hold talks with Gignac", explained Marseille’s sporting director Jose Anigo.
"They proposed that we could have Asamoah Gyan, but we decided not to follow through with it.
"This was simply because Gignac did not want to go to Sunderland."
Latest Features:
