According to our colleagues at RMC, Premier League side Leicester City have trumped Aston Villa’s offer for Jordan Veretout, in a development which has very little chance of scuppering the Frenchman’s move to Birmingham.

Aston Villa’s offer for Jordan Veretout is worth around €12m, but Leicester have made an offer in the region of €14m yesterday afternoon.

The player’s desire is still to join Aston Villa, with whom a 5 year contract has already been outlined. Nantes can pull out of this deal right up until the player has completed his arrangements with Aston Villa, but at the time of writing it does not look likely that Nantes President Waldemar Kita will pull the plug, simply to earn one or two more million euros from Leicester. More to follow throughout the day.

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Young French central midfielder Adrien Rabiot continues to search for a PSG exit door, with his agent and mother Veronique Rabiot apparently approaching Premier League sides to drum up interest, according to Foot 365.

The French youth international has been offered to Arsenal, according to the report, but without any positive response from the North London side. 

Rabiot is under contract until 2019 with PSG and club president Nasser Al Khelaifi’s view remains that the player is not for sale. A departure is implausible at the time of writing.

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According to our colleagues at RMC, Premier League side Newcastle United are closing in on the signing of Marseille winger Florian Thauvin after agreeing to a €17m deal, all of which will be paid upfront.

However, Marseille are also set to gain something from this deal, with OM insisting that such a move could not go through without a numerical replacement for Thauvin. As a result, Newcastle are willing to send French attacking midfielder Rémy Cabella to OM on loan with an option to buy.

Marseille sources have told reporters this evening that this offer was “not refusable”.

TV cameras caught Marseille President Vincent Labrune and Florian Thauvin talking for an extended period of time on the Reims substitute bench following OM’s 1-0 loss and was explaining to the winger that Newcastle’s latest proposal was too good to turn down.

A deal is not complete, because Florian Thauvin has not yet decided to commit to a move. The Frenchman has rejected multiple approaches from Premier League sides this summer, but especially from the rather persistent Magpies, and there is no guaranteeing that he will commit to this move.

However, after being formally told by the club’s president yesterday that OM want to let the player go, Thauvin will now surely be resigned to a move to Newcastle. He had wanted to stay at Marseille in order to have a better season which might see him in line for a place at EURO 2016. Bielsa’s departure has played a large role in changing Thauvin’s mind.

Marseille still have to agree terms with Rémy Cabella for this loan move, but according to the report, are confident that Cabella will be willing to return to France. This is a quirky, difficult operation which will take some days to close, but we are looking at a timeline of another 7 days most likely.

Marseille and Newcastle have agreed to this switch, Cabella and Thauvin have yet to do so. More undoubtedly to follow.

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According to L’Équipe, Rennes’ attacker Ola Toivonen is in advanced negotiations with German outfit Mainz.

Toivonen has been told to find a new club, having wanted to leave Brittany for 12 months now.

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According to Sky Italia, Napoli have made an initial approach to Marseille over the possible signing of central midfielder Mario Lemina.

Juventus are also extremely interested in the player. Lemina could well be a late mover during this summer transfer window.

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AS Monaco, St Étienne, Marseille and Bordeaux have had their Europa League fate decided this lunchtime as the Group Stage draw was completed. The outcome can be seen below:

Group B: Rubin Kazan, Liverpool, BORDEAUX, FC Sion

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Group F: MARSEILLE, Braga, Liberec, FC Groningen

Group G: Dnipro, Lazio, ST ÉTIENNE, Rosenborg

Group J: Tottenham Hotspur, Anderlecht, AS MONACO, Qarabag

According to La Provence, Marseille have now completed the signing of Juventus’ utility man Mauricio Isla on loan with an option to buy.

The player passed a medical early this afternoon and the deal should be official imminently.

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Sunday: Gazelec Ajaccio vs Monaco (13:00 GMT)

Gazelec Ajaccio will be hoping to end a run of three consecutive defeats as Monaco visit the Stade Ange Casanova on Sunday afternoon. After drawing 0-0 with Troyes in their opening fixture, the hosts have since fallen to PSG, Angers and Lille, all without scoring a single goal. This match looks set to be another tough task for the newly-promoted team, although Monaco aren’t in the best of form themselves.

The visitors have won just one of the opening four league games, away at Nice on the opening weekend, and suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at the hands of champions PSG in their outing. Manager Leonardo Jardim, however, will be expecting nothing less than all three points in this one though.

Sunday: Nantes vs Rennes (16:00 GMT)

Nantes will be looking to stop in-form Rennes as the two teams meet at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Sunday. The hosts have had an inconsistent start to the season, beating both Guingamp and Reims, being held to a goalless draw at Angers and, most recently, losing to Bordeaux.

The visitors, however, arrive in Nantes aiming for their fourth consecutive league victory. Since losing 2-1 away at Bastia on the opening weekend, Philippe Montanier’s men have been unstoppable, claiming all three points against Montpellier, Lyon and Toulouse. Another win this weekend will take them up to second in the table, just a point behind PSG.

Sunday: Marseille vs Bastia (20:00 GMT)

Marseille will be hoping for calmer waters this weekend as Bastia visit the Stade Velodrome. The hosts have had a wild start to the campaign, losing three of their first four fixtures and whilst new manager Michel enjoyed the perfect start to his reign with a 6-0 thrashing of Troyes, he came crashing back down to Earth a week later as Marseille returned to their dismal displays in a 2-0 loss to Guingamp. They head into this match 17th in the table. Fancy a flutter on SC Bastia tonight? Visit www.gamblingsites.org before picking your betting site.

Bastia, meanwhile, sit in sixth, with two wins to their name so far. Ghislain Printant’s men were victorious at home against both Rennes and Guingamp, but have struggled on their travels, drawing with Lorient and, in their last outing, losing 2-1 to St Etienne.

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R.B.

France manager Didier Deschamps spoke on a number of topics during his first press conference of the international break today, the highlights below.

On replacing the injured Ntep with Lacazette…

Honestly, I did not need an evening to think about it. I made the decision yesterday but as there were six players involved in matches last night, I preferred to wait.

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On whether he considered Ben Arfa…

No because I had already thought that through last Thursday. I am not going to change my thinking four days later.

On Dimitri Payet…

He scored last weekend, good, hope he continues… But there are also others who have scored and they are here. At the moment, in the attacking sector of the pitch, I have a choice.

On Lacazette’s general form…

He is playing better. He had an agitated summer for several reasons. But he has not lost his abilities from one day to the next. His most recent match gave him his smile back. He is heading in the right direction. It seemed logical to me to bring him back.

On Anthony Martial…

There was a lot of anticipation and criticism at the beginning. He has gotten rid of a considerable amount of that, but not entirely. He is with us because he has a very exciting potential. He is not a very assured character, he is quite quiet, but that does not bother me. With the younger players in the squad, it often happens like that. He has changed world but for the moment he is carrying himself very well.

On Olivier Giroud…

He is in a rough patch. This is a difficult period for him. His playing time is less important, his confidence has diminished and he recently had a match with us where he could have shown himself to perform better. That is part of a season… The fact that he is here means that I have confidence in him. He cannot lose his abilities overnight.

On Karim Benzema… 

If you ask him, he will tell you that he always wants to score more (for France). Karim, he scores goals but he is not a fox in the box. He is not solely there to score goals. I will not change him: he likes to take part in the game, he is important in the build-up. When he deserts that central zone, it is up to the other players to make up for that so that there is a presence in front of the goal.

On Lassana Diarra…

He has maintained his level of performances. That’s good. He has comforted me on what I could have said when he has selected… He has international experience with whichever clubs he was at in the past and even for the national team. Aside from that, there is competition, he knows that and he is used to it. He is reserved guy, he will have to find his place in the group but he has returned with a smile and that is the most important thing. We have two games to play. Of course, he will be involved.

Two games in to Group J of the Europa League and it has been two draws so far for Monaco. Nathan Staples previews their third group match. Now they face off against, admittedly, the ‘minnows’ of the group in Qarabag but the Azerbaijan champions have a win under their belts and can pose a real threat tonight.

Based off their solid defence, showcased against everyone bar Tottenham so far, the Baku club may look to sit back and counter in the principality but how Monaco set up could be key. A win in this one and they have a real chance of qualifying for the next round.

Team News

Adama Traore will definitely miss out after being ruled out for at least three months with a broken ankle. Fabio Coentrao, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Helder Costa, Almamy Traore and Fares Bahlouli will all miss out but Nabil Dirar will be available after missing out at the weekend.

With limited options, Monaco may begin with a similar line-up to that which started against Lyon on Friday night, although Stephan El Shaarawy may get a start ahead of Lacina Traore.

Qarabag have no major injury worries but there could be a sighting of a former Ligue 1 player, with former Lens man Alharbi El Jadeyaoui in the Azrbaijan side’s ranks

Also a familiar face to Ligue 2 viewers, Rydell Poepon could feature, who spent last season on loan with Valencienne where he scored seven goals in 35 appearances.

Their coach, former Azerbaijan international Gurban Gurbanov, is still his nation’s highest-scoring player with 12 goals and along with being the most successful Azerbaijani manager in European competitions, he has lead his side to consecutive league titles.

Danger Men

Stephan El Shaarawy (Monaco) – The young Italian has not exactly set the world alight so far since his loan move from AC Milan but he is always a danger and this could be a real chance for him to boost his confidence.

If he can start applying himself a little more and giving himself a little more freedom, he could become a huge player for Monaco going forward and he should see this as a real opportunity to kick-start a stuttering opening to the season.

Richard Almeida (Qarabag) – Scoring in every Europa League game so far, Monaco will need to keep tabs on Richard Almeida. The Brazilian has also hit five goals in six games domestically and is the main source of goals in the Qarabag team.

Jardim’s defence has been pretty leaky this season and that will suit Almeida down to the ground, with the attacker having a keen eye for a goal and should Monaco want to keep this tight, they should really man mark him out of the game.

Prediction

This looks like a tricky one on paper but the real water test for Qarabag was against Tottenham and they could not hold on to their slender early lead. Monaco need to treat this much like a Ligue 1 game and establish an early advantage so that a sticky side don’t become any more sticky as the game goes on.

That being said, treating it like a Ligue 1 game might be poor advice given their record so far but this should be a safe win for Jardim’s men here. They have enough quality in the bank and while the Azerbaijan side will put up a fight, a goal at any time could see their confidence sap.

Anything less than that and they will have an incredibly tough time in getting out of the group. They should know the importance of this one, especially on France’s European co-efficient, and it could quite easily be a springboard to a vein of better form.

Result: Monaco 2-0 Qarabag

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