Arsenal and United join the hunt for Essien
The French champions have already rejected Chelsea's latest bid of € 30.5 million for the midfield star, and chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has now hinted there is interest from two of their Premiership rivals.
Chelsea have been leading the race to sign the Ghana international and have been haggling over the fee with Lyon for the last month. But so far Chelsea's offer has fallen way short of the € 43.5m required by Lyon.
While Aulas is due to meet Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich following his return from the club's American tour, it is becoming clear that they now face a fight to land the player.
Essien remains keen to move to Stamford Bridge but Aulas, speaking after Lyon started the defence of their title with a 2-1 victory over Le Mans, said: "It is tedious to lose one of the best players in Europe but he has not left yet. We can still find a compromise so that he only leaves next year.
"Chelsea will have to show themselves to be very persuasive for us to let him leave. Manchester want him just as much. This Essien story does not weary me. Perhaps it will be solved on September 1 and not on July 31. I have more resistance than some people have imagined.
"The more Chelsea will wait, the more they will be put in difficulty, not just compared to Lyon, but also compared to another English club which has just lost a defensive midfielder."
That was a clear hint that Arsenal may be tempted to enter the bidding for Essien, who missed the game against Le Mans with a stomach complaint. However, sources at to Highbury say the fee demanded by Lyon would rule the Gunners out of making a serious move.
The club have refused to comment but it would take substantially more than the € 19.9m they received for Vieira to steal the Ghanaian from under Jose Mourinho's nose.
Dennis Bergkamp insists Arsenal still have the quality to the win the Premiership, even if they don't find a replacement for the midfield enforcer.
"Patrick was a big, big player for us on and off the pitch. He helped to build what we have now, we shouldn't forget that," said Bergkamp.
"How will we cope? Well, we have won games without him in the past and we will stick together and come out of it hopefully stronger because we have to.
"If you cannot be competitive with the money then you have to look at different things the young players, the youth system.
"We are still a team with a lot of talent and if we can keep it together and let it grow then we can still be a good team. This season there is still a possibility we can be champions. We have not given the title to them already."
Arsenal have already signed Alexander Hleb, the versatile Belarus midfielder, for € 14.5m from Stuttgart, but he is not a like-for-like replacement for Vieira.
But then who is? Newcastle's Jermaine Jenas has been linked with a move to Highbury and when it appeared Vieira was off to Real Madrid last summer, Michael Carrick was targeted by Wenger.
Neither player offers Vieira's presence in the middle of the park nor offers the same leadership skills.
Wenger has turned to Thierry Henry, a quieter, almost introspective figure on the field, to captain Arsenal this season and Bergkamp believes the France striker will grow into the role.
"I am sure that if you had a choice you would take a defensive midfielder or a defender as captain. It is totally new for Thierry. Like a lot of strikers he is busy with his own game because we have to make a difference. But he wants the job. He certainly has the character to combine the two."
Wenger, meanwhile, has ruled out a bid for Michael Owen, the England striker whose position at Real Madrid has become increasingly untenable following the arrival of Baptista and Robinho to the Bernabeu.
Wenger said: "I like Michael Owen personally but I have not made any approach. I have Robin Van Persie, Jose Antonio Reyes, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Arturo Lupoli."
He does have an eye out for a new goalkeeper after neither Jens Lehmann nor Manuel Almunia proved overly reliable for Arsenal last term.
Uruguayan Sebastian Viera is on the list, through Wenger stressed a deal remains some way off.
Meanwhile, Chelsea's assistant boss Steve Clarke has played down injuries to key trio William Gallas, Claude Makelele and Arjen Robben.
Clarke said: "William got a kick on the knee and in pre-season, you do not want to take any risks with your players. Claude got a bang on the head and it is a similar scenario. It is pre-season, we need to look after our players and make sure they are fit for the start of the season."
Robben failed to take the field against Milan, but Clarke dismissed suggestions that the Dutchman had aggravated an old hamstring problem.
He added: "He was being ultra-cautious. He said before the game he felt his hamstring was a little bit tight."
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