Valencia is going to pull all the stops out to sign left back Aly Cissokho, or at least that's what the sporting director has in mind. This position has needed to be filled ever since the transfer market opened and Jordi Alba was sold to Barcelona. However, it has proven a tricky business for various reasons.

Whether the reason be Granada's reluctance to sell Siqueira or Dídac Vilà's unexpected groin strain, the fact remains that Valencia has started the league season armed with only one left back: Jérémy Mathieu.

The French defender, currently at Olympique Lyon, is the favourite to the fill the vacancy and preliminary contact between the two clubs has already been made. In the initial rounds of negotiations, Valencia put in a bid of €4 million, which the French team duly rejected and came back with an asking price of €10 million.

Valencia would never be able to afford such an amount, but haven't thrown the towel in yet, increasing its offer to €6 million. The Spanish club is confident this new offer will be accepted, especially given the fact that the player himself has expressed his desire to play at 'Mestalla', and the club hopes to wrap the deal up this week. Cissokho, 25, will be the seventh new player Valencia has signed for the season ahead.