It was only a matter of time, to be perfectly honest, and we should have seen it coming, but with Marcelo Bielsa taking over at Lille, and with the Ligue 1 club funded by billionaire Gerard Lopez, a link to Steve Mandanda was bound to happen.
The French magazine claim the Ligue 1 side have enquired about the player, who is apparently actively looking for a way out from Selhurst Park.
Marseille, who are said to have offered €1.5m + bonuses for the Crystal Palace man, are taking their time to up their bid to meet Steve Parish’s €5m expectation, meaning Lille could skip to the front of the queue if they aren’t careful.
However, before anything happens, the Eagles’ chairman would prefer to hear Sam Allardyce’s successor thoughts on last summer’s star signing.
Bielsa is a big fan of the France international, having already tried to bring him to Lazio last year when he was touted as their next manager before pulling out at the last minute, and with Vincent Enyeama nearing his 35th birthday, bringing in a second experienced goalkeeper appears to be vital for ‘El Loco’.
At the top of that list appears to be the Crystal Palace goalkeeper.
This could be a long one.
