Lyon have agreed a deal to sign playmaker Yoann Gourcuff from Ligue 1 rivals Bordeaux.
The seven-time champions have agreed to pay 22m (18m) in three installments by the end of December 2012, and Bordeaux could receive up to 4.5m (3.7m) more if or when Lyon sell the France international at some point. The 24-year-old is set to have a medical later this week, after which he will pen a long-term deal with his new employers.
Gourcuff joined Bordeaux on loan from AC Milan for the 2008/09 season, and he played a starring role in Bordeaux winning their first Ligue 1 title in a decade and capturing the Coupe de la Ligue for the second time in three years. Following his excellent season, in which he scored 16 goals and assisted on a dozen more in all competitions and was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, Bordeaux took up the option to sign Gourcuff permanently.
Last season, neither club nor player reached the same heights, but Gourcuff still finished with six goals and seven assists in 26 league starts, and he also notched two goals and two assists in Bordeaux’s Champions League campaign.
At the 2010 World Cup, Gourcuff started France’s opener against Uruguay, and after being an unused sub in their 2-0 defeat to Mexico, started and was sent off in the 25th minute of the 2-1 defeat to the host country that ended France’s shockingly short stay in South Africa.
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