Chamakh ready to run down deal

16 August 2009 14:46
Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has hinted that he is prepared to run down the final year of his contract if he is not allowed a summer move to England. The Morocco striker, 25, has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal, Sunderland and West Ham having shown interest. However, no deal has yet been agreed and, with Arsene Wenger having suggested he is unwilling to pay over the odds for a player who will soon be out of contract, Chamakh has warned his employers that he will consider moving on a Bosman next year. "We will try to sort out a transfer," he told Canal Plus. "Maybe I will stay, but for me there is no question of signing an extension." Bordeaux boss Laurent Blanc has already stated that he is happy to allow Chamakh to leave for a top English side, but he insists that they have yet to receive any offers that he would consider suitable. "This is not about whether we let him go or not but about where we let him go," he said in L'Equipe. "We had a deal - if a large English club really wanted him, we would find an agreement, but the large English club is not there." ApologyBlanc previously caused offence when he said Chamakh would not be allowed to join Sunderland as he 'deserved better', leading Steve Bruce to accuse Blanc of being 'disrespectful'. Bruce highlighted the relative attendances of the two clubs in his response, but Blanc has apologised and said his comments were misunderstood. "I certainly did not communicate my thoughts well at all," he said. "My remarks were misunderstood by the people of Sunderland. "When I say he deserves better, it is in sporting terms - and only in terms of sport. "I am not here to discuss the size of a club. All the clubs, I respect them."

Source: SKY_Sports