Marseille deny plans to offload Cisse

Marseille have denied they are preparing to return Djibril Cisse to the Premier League in order to finance a move for Nice forward Bakari Kone.

Marseille president Pape Diouf rubbished reports they were preparing to sell the unsettled former Liverpool striker to an English club in a bid to raise funds for the 26-year-old Kone following Nice’s rejection of a £6.8m offer.

“First of all I must stress that at Marseille the players are not the ones who decide if they leave or not,” Diouf told L’Equipe.

“We have to look at Djibril’s situation on its own. He experienced difficult moments last year that led him to think about returning to England.

“At this moment, no decision has been taken. Two conditions would be needed to allow him to leave – if an offer that reaches our demands was made and if we can find a replacement.

“Djibril is worth 37 goals in a season and a half and it is not easy to find players like that.

“For sure we’d rather keep a player like him.”

When asked if Cisse would make way for Kone, Diouf replied: “Absolutely not. Those two options are very different.

“Saying Bakari will be Djibril’s successor is not correct. Nothing can prevent us from thinking that a partnership between both could be an option.”