The first-year head coach expects the Impact to be competitive in their first season and has been aggressive in trying to sign high-profile players like the Frenchman and Del Piero

By Alex Labidou Montreal Impact coach Jesse Marsch has revealed that his club have held talks with Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas confirmed on Saturday that the Frenchman, as well as defender Alex, will be able to leave the club in January after having a transfer request accepted.Just over a week after the Impact began to build their team through the MLS expansion draft, Marsch says he would like to sign the forward."We did meet with Nicolas Anelka. The discussions were very good. I think there was great potential for a good fit and I think there still is," Marsch revealed to. "I think the organisation is open to [being] committed to spending major dollars to bring in good players."As he tried to plan around November's expansion draft, Marsch explained that he asked the club to keep information guarded because he did not want other Major League Soccer clubs to have an idea of the players he was aiming to sign.Montreal used their first pick to select Brian Ching from the Houston Dynamo, while they have also added LA Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and Philadelphia Union midfielder Justin Mapp."I wanted to be smart about not letting teams know what we already had in our arsenal," said Marsch. "What it meant is that some of the enthusiasm over player signings was put back until we had the draft. Now that the draft has passed, we've been able to announce more about players and you see the momentum and excitement building."Earlier in the year, Marsch admitted that the Impact pursued Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero over the summer. Montreal wanted to sign him in January but the 38-year-old wants to finish his last season with Juventus."Yeah, those discussions were had more over the summertime, I thought those were good discussions as well but some of those broke down because it wasn't going to be possible for him to get here until maybe the summer," Marsch explained. "At that stage, he would be 39."However, Marsch expects that Del Piero will continue to look at MLS as an option when his contract with Juventus expires at the end of the season."He would wind up saying that LA or NY were more of his focal point [after the initial conversations]," the coach said.Marsch fully expects the Impact to be competitive in their first season in MLS. While he acknowledges that the club will continue to be aggressive in trying to sign marketable players, he stressed that he wants to build a well-rounded team.Marsch's strategy was apparent during the expansion draft when he declined to take a big name such as the Union's Freddy Adu and focused mainly on strengthening his defence and players with the potential to develop their game significantly."We are focused on the process of becoming a good team," said Marsch. "The energy and the work we put in every day, that's what's going to make us a good team. Not who we sign."He added: "You can't cut corners and think that if you bring in certain guys and do something here and there, that you are automatically a good team. It takes time. I have sworn to honour that process."One of the bold decisions made by the Impact already was in selecting Ching, 33, who had threatened to retire if they picked him. He still wants to see out his career with the Dynamo, but while Marsch understands Ching's position he felt that the club needed to pick a player who is still seen as a star in MLS."There are other teams in the league that are interested in him and Houston has shown interest in having him back," said Marsch. "I have said all along that I want to do what's best for Brian Ching but I also have to do what's best for this organisation."Marsch said that at this stage it is "too hard to tell" if Montreal fans will be seeing Ching in an Impact jersey next season.One area where Marsch has taken a little criticism is in the team's lack of known Canadian-born players. He said that some of the team's current Canadian players will remain in the squad and team president Joey Saputo has focused on developing young local talent.According to Marsch, Saputo has invested heavily in the team's youth academy, and within the next two or three seasons, he would like to see local players in their squad. Montreal is a city known for its pride in its French traditions, and the coach is fully aware of that."As an organisation, we want to honour the community," said Marsch. "That includes Quebec players and Canadan players."He stated the three Canadian clubs - the Impact, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps - have a responsibility to help improve the country's national team."We want our talented young players to develop here," said Marsch.One current Canadian national team player that the Impact are interested in bringing on board is former star Patrice Bernier. The 32-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for Danish club Lyngby Boldklub, launched his career with the club during their NASL days and is strongly considering a move back after playing for almost a decade in Europe."He's a good man and he's said that he would like to come back and help this franchise," said Marsch. "I think the discussions have been good and I think we've made a commitment to him on many different levels and we'll see how it pans out."