French champions Lille have expressed a desire to keep Englishman Joe Cole after his loan deal expires. The winger, on loan from Premier League side Liverpool, has impressed for the club so far and coach Rudi Garcia has made it clear that he would like the loan deal to be made permanent should the opportunity arise.

“Of course I would like to keep Joe Cole at the club next season. He’s not just a very talented player, but also a man of many qualities. “He shares the values of Lille and northern France. He is a humble guy, honest and approachable despite his fantastic CV as a player. “His team-mates really appreciate him. He has the virtue of being a hard worker – he goes flat out all the time. I sometimes have to tell him in training to take his foot off the gas and save some energy. “He is a pleasure to coach.”

This news comes after Joe Cole spoke very highly of the club and manager Rudi Garcia in an interview conducted for Ligue 1’s official website. Cole stated his belief that Lille are “the best team in the league” and the strong management skills of Rudi Garcia.

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The Carlos Tevez transfer saga looks to continue with Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini insisting that the striker will not leave the club on loan. AC Milan have been strongly linked with the player but are said to prefer a loan deal with a view to a permanent deal, terms which do not suit City.

“I hope we can find a good solution for us and for Carlos. We want Carlos to come back and play football and the best solution for us is to sell him. We can’t let him leave on loan. “When Manchester City buy a player, they have to pay a lot of money. But when we want to sell, they have to go on loan. This is not good. It is not correct for the other players. “Manchester City paid Carlos a lot of money for three years. It is correct that if one club, it could be Milan, Juventus, PSG, Inter, want him, they pay Carlos his value. This is correct.”

Paris Saint-Germain are also monitoring the situation and would be prepared to pay cash for the player. PSG’s director of football Leonardo yesterday stating that he will not stand in Milan’s way if they are successful in brokering a deal for the Argentina international.

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Former France international David Trezeguet will be officially presented as a River Plate player on the 4th of January. The 34 year-old striker, who scored 34 goals in 71 appearances for France, has passed his medical with the Argentine club and will be their first signing of the January transfer window. He looks set to finish his career in Argentina, where he made his professional debut in 1994.

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