Thursday, 6th February, 2014
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are all bidding to sign up young Marseille midfielder Maxime Lopez, according to French daily La Provence.
The 16-year-old, who has been playing in Marseille's Under-17 ranks, has attracted much interest from the three English clubs, who are all now actively plotting to tempt him away from the Stade Velodrome in the summer.
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Marseille also fielded Lopez in this season's UEFA Youth League, a competition which runs concurrent to the Champions League.
He featured in all six of the French side's group games, playing against Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli, as the senior side took on the same teams in their group in the Champions League proper.
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He has made quite a splash and now Marseille fear losing him, having convened an emergency summit with the player and his representatives set for later today.
On offer will be a strong commitment, with two years as a trainee and then three years as a professional, proposed to Lopez.
But Marseille are realistic, knowing their attempts may fall short.
"If a foreign club offers €20,000 per month to a 16-year-old kid, plus a stake to the parents, what can you do?", a source at the club told La Provence.
"This is the law of the football business, but we hope he'll choose with his heart."
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