Keeping Taiwo And Niang Is New Marseille Coach's Priority

It was widely believed that Marseille veterans Taye Taiwo and Mamadou Niang would be leaving for the Premiership and Spanish La Liga, respectively; but Olympique de Marseille's future coach wants them to remain in France.



Nigerian left-back Taye Ismaila Taiwo and Senegalese Forward Mamadou Niang have been mainstays for Olympique de Marseille, the white and blues, in the past few seasons. So much so that the club had in mind to let them leave if an appropriate offer came at the end of the season from foreign clubs.

But as Marseille are still in the heat of their two-team confrontation with Girondins de Bordeaux at the top of Ligue 1 for the French title, their future coach, Didier Deschamps, has been nominated early so that he can pick the players he wants in his squad for next season. And the legendary France midfielder singled out both the Nigerian and the Senegalese as his top priorities.

Taiwo has expressed his admiration for the Premier League many times in the past, and had been linked with many English clubs by his team-mate Modeste M'bami (the Cameroon international is his best friend, room-mate and will himself be a free-agent at the end of the season, hoping to be recruited by a Premier League side). But now Taiwo seems particularly eager to declare his love of the club and his willingness to stay one more season, with the World Cup in mind.

After five seasons with Marseille, Taiwo is still their longest-serving player, and at only 23, he still has a lot of room to better himself there.

As for Niang, the Senegalese striker is very discreet about his future but many insiders have witnessed and confessed his new found love for the club with the new status he has gained during his rivalry with French international Djibril Cisse (Cisse was the star of the team but Niang dethroned him and was the main reason for Marseille's incredible second half last year) and he wouldn't be as inclined to leave the club now that Didier Deschamps has claimed that he is the best player in Ligue 1.

Both players are still in contracts with the club until 2012 at least, so Marseille are still in a position of power if they want to keep them on the Canebiere.