Hatem Ben Arfa's agent welcomes AC Milan interest
Olympique Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa’s agent Frederic Guerra has welcomed the news of AC Milan’s interest in his player. Guerra has been on the lookout for a new club for his client, and believes the player can flourish at the San Siro. The Italians have been linked with the 23-year-old after his club made it aware that he could be available.
Guerra has discussed the reports, telling Ilsussidiario.net that: "I think he is an important player, very technical and he could add to the quality of Milan's midfield.He would like to play for a club like Milan in the San Siro in front of 75,000 people."
A potential barrier to the move has emerged, however, with Ben Arfa’s price tag possibly meaning Milan will rule themselves out of any deal. Guerra believes the France international to be worth eight million euros. Marseille manager Didier Deschamps revealed that the club would not be able to spend any money on new players this summer, which hinted at the fact he may have to sell some of his squad in order to re-build.
English contact
Chris Hughton, manager of newly-promoted English Premier League side Newcastle United, has made contact with Marseille over the player’s availability, but French newspaper L’equipe reported that a German side is also interested in securing the winger’s services. Ben Arfa had spoken of his interest in a move to England, claiming: “The Premier League has always been one of my challenges.” However, the price tag may rule out Newcastle from pursuing the matter - they have faced financial difficulty in recent seasons after over-spending. A loan move may be possible for the player, with JournalLive.co.uk reporting that Marseille sporting director Jose Anigo had confirmed Newcastle are “one of four or five clubs” in talks with the French champions over a deal.
Ben Arfa started out his career with a variety of youth clubs in France, and had a spell at Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre – the football centre of France’s national football association. While there, he played for FC Versailles at weekends before securing a move to Olympique Lyonnais at the age of 15.
After two years in the youth program, he signed his first professional contract with the club, despite interest from EPL side Chelsea and Dutch giants Ajax. Along with fellow youngster Karim Benzema, he was promoted to the senior team. He made his first-team debut in the opening match of the 2004-05 season as a substitute against OGC Nice. He scored his first goal as a professional against Lille in a Coupe de la Ligue match, scoring a penalty to give Marseille a 2-1 lead but his club eventually lost the game 3-2. He made his debut in the UEFA Champions league in a group stage match against Manchester United, appearing as a substitute in place of Sidney Govou.
Prominent role
In the 2007-08 season, Ben Arfa was given a more prominent role on the left side of attack in a 4-3-3 formation. Following some impressive performances, he was named the league’s Young Player of the Year. The player won the Ligue 1 championship in each of his four seasons as a Lyon player, along with a Coupe de France and two Trophee des champions victories. After 87 appearances and scoring 11 goals for Lyon, the winger joined Marseille in July 2008 for a fee of 11m euros. Over the last two seasons, he has played for the club 86 times and netted 13 times, including five goals as Marseille won a league and cup double last season.
Ben Arfa has also enjoyed a good start to his senior international career after featuring for all of France’s youth teams. He made his international debut in a UEFA 2008 European Championships qualifying match in October 2007 and scored in a 6-0 demolition of the Faroe Islands. In total, he has received seven caps.
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