With his contract set to expire in four months time, rumours suggesting that Rennes midfielder Sylvain Marveaux will trade Ligue 1 for the Premier League are gathering pace. Although the Frenchman denied reports at the weekend that claimed he has agreed a move to Liverpool, many believe that Marveaux will be lining up at Anfield next season. What exactly can fans on the Kop look forward to watching in 2011/12?
The 24-year-old made his professional debut for current club Rennes at the start of the 2006/07 season, appearing in the side’s 2-1 defeat to Lille. His first goal for the club came just over two months later, when he scored in a 3-1 win over Auxerre. Marveaux was mostly used as a substitute for the remainder of 2006/07, but finished the season with a respectable tally of six goals from 32 appearances (nine starts). He made a similar number of appearances in the following season.
He cemented himself as a regular in France’s under-21 squad in 2006, but a knee problem prevented him from appearing at the 2006 European Under-21 Football Championship finals.
Marveaux endured a disappointing campaign in 2008/09. A serious hamstring problem restricted him to just six appearances for Les Rouges et Noirs.
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However, last season Marveaux enjoyed the most fruitful campaign of his fledging career so far. In 35 outings the midfielder managed 12 goals and five assists. This form attracted admiring glances from across the continent, with Manchester United and Chelsea rumoured to have shown interest in the 24-year-old. West Ham United were the only English club to show concrete interest in the winger but saw their £3m bid for Marveaux rejected in June 2010.
Able to play in a variety of attacking midfield positions, Marveaux appears to fit the bill of the type of player that Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli are looking for. The Frenchman is an accomplished dribbler, with a decent cross and an eye for goal. The departure of Fernando Torres and subsequent arrivals of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll mean that Liverpool can now play with greater tactical flexibility, and Marveaux would certainly provide Dalglish with more options.
Although Marveaux would undoubtedly boost Liverpool’s strength in depth, question marks persist over his physical condition. A troublesome groin injury has restricted him to just ten appearances this term, and a hamstring injury meant that he missed the majority of 2008/09.
With the likes of Fabio Aurelio and Daniel Agger perpetually warming the club’s treatment table, Liverpool could certainly do without adding another injury-prone player to their ranks. However, a quality wide player is sorely needed at Anfield and Liverpool could do a lot worse than making a move for Marveaux this summer.
Watch some footage of Marveaux in action below:
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The article was written by Zarif Rasul for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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Is anybody else worried about carroll changing team dynamic, With him we end up playing long ball tactics, Ive heard comparisons to ‘Big Dunc’ and I remember everton fans moan ing that whenever he came on everton resorted to long ball? Any thoughts?
We need two wingers like young and Sanchez. Also we need to buy a strong central midfielder along with getting taiwo on free and we will be sorted. Let the summer commence!