Ligue Un's current top scorer, Marseille's André-Pierre Gignac, is set to leave the club for costless at the end of the season according to the club's president. Gignac has scored ten goals in his first eleven league appearances so far this season, but Marseille chairman Vincent Labrune says that it is impossible for L'OM to meet the striker's wage demands.
Labrune has placed the blame on the shoulders of French authorities who have recently implemented changed in tax laws in the country. "It's going to happen (Gignac leaving) because employer contributions and taxes have gone through the roof in France," he told Le Journal de Dimanche. "We would like to keep him but it seems to me utopian to think that he will lower his salary to stay with us."
Gignac's current contract runs out at the end of the season and with his goals propelling Marcelo Bielsa's Marseille to the top of Ligue Un, clubs around Europe have been placed on high alert. Given their history of bringing players in from the French league, Arsenal and Newcastle United are just two of the clubs who have been heavily linked with the 28-year old who has played in the Champions League and for his country.
Reports in France claimed last week that Marseille's superb form could persuade Gignac to sign a reduced contract, but Labrune is not holding his breath. "He loves the city and the club, so we're going to talk," he said. "But his agent is right to say that, with his current displays, he is more likely to get better offers."
Arsenal were interested in Gignac four years ago but a price tag of over £20million led Arsène Wenger to sign eventual flop Marouane Chamakh instead. "I like the player," admitted Wenger in 2010. "I don't need to send people to look him because I know him well enough already because he plays for the French national team."