Transfer Time: From Russia with love, maybe

By: Sam | January 7th, 2007

Hola amigos, I know it’s been a while since I rapped at ya, but I’ve been quite the busy bee of late. Here’s more on transfers, of course.

If you know French footie as much as I, you’ll know that when January comes around, approximately six thousand players are listed as potential considerations for Olympique de Marseille. Some come true, in Salim Arrache’s case, who signed down south for three and a half years, realizing a childhood dream after spending some time in Strasbourg and suffering an injury. Others, such as Lilian Thuram or Ricardo Costa, spin off the track.

But this week, the Marseillais staff have opted for two affordable and talented players to fit their needs as they approach the second part of the Ligue 1 season.

Evgeni Aldonin, a 26-year old Russian international and a pillar of CSKA Moskva’s UEFA Cup winning side in 2005, has been in OM’s sight for a good deal of time now, and could cross the continent to the tune of about 3 million euros. He is, apparently, the ideal midfielder to fit Marseille’s needs and financial limitations.

Michael Gravgaard, the solid (to say the least) Danish international defender. Six foot one and a good number of pounds, the man right now at FC Kobenvahn is nicknamed “Air Force” by his buddies. With OM looking for an experienced centre-back to help out the young bucks in the line up, Gravgaard looks like a good fit to me. The pesky little price tag, however, could be as high as 5 million euros.