Our colleagues at RMC have provided an article explaining André Pierre Gignac’s current transfer situation in an attempt to dispel some of the myths and rumours that have engulfed the press in recent weeks.
They believe that the reason Gignac announced to Italian media that he was set on leaving Marseille before quickly changing his mind when asked several days later saying that his future depended upon that of Marcelo Bielsa’s was two-folded.
The first reason for doing so is it heightens the idea of a relationship between Bielsa and Gignac which is useful for the player because ultimately it will be the manager who decides whether or not the club should offer APG a new contract or not and there might be some hope that Bielsa will have picked up on these reports and feel somewhat appreciative.
The second is that these claims give Gignac an excuse to leave Marseille if a big club comes knocking for his services when his agents begin to negotiate pre-contracts with clubs next month. This way he can part from Marseille and the fans and claim that he was being transparent all along.
It is of course a risky game for Gignac to play to wait for Bielsa’s decision on his own future because the Argentinian has a record of only announcing whether or not he will stay at a club for the following season when the current campaign is over, like he did at Bilbao.
RMC believe that Marseille President Vincent Labrune has been given the budget of up to €200k per month for Andre Pierre Gignac’s contract extension and that he will absolutely offer the player one, but Marseille’s #9 recently confirmed that he will announce his decision at the end of the season, which gives him ample time to make OM sweat and offer him the best deal possible.
After all, it makes financial sense to keep Gignac, at least in the short term. If they let him walk for free this summer, then they will have only Michy Batshuayi at their disposal upfront and would have to spend money to bring in another striker in the summer.
The final nugget of information coming from this report is that at the time of writing there isn’t a single Marseille player who has come to Vincent Labrune directly to explain their unhappiness with their current situation at the club.
The situation is likely to drag on and remain complicated for the forthcoming 6 months and if Gignac continues to play the way in which he has in the first half of this campaign, he will be in control of proceedings come May.
