French League Champs Eye Addy

Rudi Garcia, coach of champions Lille OSC, is keeping tabs on Ghanaian defender, Lee Addy. Lille OSC are desperate to retain their Ligue 1 Championelle next season and are also going to compete in the UEFA Champions League.

Lee Addy, currently on the books of Serbian Super Liga giants Red Star Belgrade, has played 20 matches for Ghana including the 2010 final of African Cup of Nations. The former Bechem Chelsea player has appeared in 19 matches for the Serbian Club and is a key centre-back player in their squad.

Talking to daily Le Parisien, the Ghana International and cousin of former France International, Marcel Desailly, expressed his willingness to join Stade Lille-Métropole.

Having won Ligue 1 Championships after nearly 56 years, Les Dogues are looking to continue winning ways in the upcoming campaign as well. Coach Garcia will have some trouble in the defence as Emerson has left for Portuguese giants Benfica for a transfer fee of 2.5 million Euros.

Although the French tactician will be happy to have the veteran defender Laurent Bonnart in his squad, experts claim that the 31-year-old will not be playing regularly as he will face stiff competition from Mathieu Debuchy.

The current squad has two left backs, the ever loyal Mathieu Debuchy and the former FC Metz defender Franck Beria. If LOSC decide to sign the Black Stars defender, Bonnart will then find himself competing for the right-back position.

Signing Lee Addy will require careful consideration, since he is a key player for Ghana and will feature for the African giants in the 2012 Africa cup of Nations (If Ghana qualify) and might not be available for key matches. There are other options available for Lille such as AS Monaco player Cédric Mongongou and Waldo Ponce of Mexican Primera Division club, Cruz Azul.

Mongongou is still young and inexperienced whereas the Chilean international, Ponce, has a lot of experience of playing at the top level, which makes him a more appealing option to Les Dogues.

Time is running out for Garcia in order to make a final decision as the transfer window is drawing to a close. Although the left-footed Ghanaian will give an extra depth in the defence, his availability in the key matches remains a concern and Lille might be better off signing the experienced 28-year-old Waldo Ponce.