Tigana: Hands may be tied over Gourcuff

Emirates Stadium supremo Arsene Wenger is believed to see Gourcuff as an ideal replacement for Cesc Fabregas, should the Gunners' skipper complete his expected move to Barcelona this summer, while Lyon and Manchester City are also thought to have expressed interest in the 23-year-old.

GEAR:Get a Gourcuff shirt

And his current boss, ex-Fulham chief Jean Tigana, appears to have accepted defeat in his quest to keep the midfielder, due to the terms of his contract.

Speaking to L'Equipe, he said: "Since I arrived, I've said he has a buyout clause of £22 million. If someone comes and buys him, I will not have my say.



"If there is no offer... you know, I like to work with good players, it makes me happy. I'm not going to complain."

Gourcuff, the son of Christian, a former Ligue 1 player and manager, has made 67 appearances for Bordeaux in two seasons and has three years left on his contract.

He spent a year on loan at Stade Chaban Delmas before making the move permanent last summer. However, Bordeaux failed to qualify for a continental competition next season after an indifferent end to the campaign.

And Gourcuff's desire to feature in the Champions League could certainly make a move to Arsenal all the more tempting, as well as the fact that the Gunners have already recruited Gourcuff's former Bordeaux team-mate Marouane Chamakh.

Gourcuff endured a disappointing World Cup campaign with France this summer, crashing out at the group stage and suffering the ignominy of a red card in the final group game against South Africa.

The playmaker wasn't alone in his failings to produce his assured club form for les Bleus in South Africa, so will be looking to hit the ground running on either side of the channel in 2010/11.

By Mark Booth 

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