Jean-Louis Triaud believes Bordeaux have mismanaged their attempts to keep Marouane Chamakh.
Triaud rues poor attempts to secure Moroccan
Jean-Louis Triaud believes Bordeaux have mismanaged their attempts to keep Marouane Chamakh.
The Moroccan striker is free to negotiate with other clubs in January and looks set to leave Bordeaux when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Chamakh has long been linked with a move away from France and a number of Premier League clubs expressed an interest over the summer.
Arsenal failed in a bid to sign the 25-year-old and have been tipped to rekindle their pursuit in the New Year following Robin van Persie's injury.
Bordeaux have warned the Gunners off making a move and president Triaud admits the club should have tried to tie the forward to a long-term deal sooner.
"You can say we've dealt with it badly," he told
L'Equipe. "We should have acted earlier.
"We took weeks, months to identify his adviser. We didn't know who he was.
"But it's true, we should have acted, discussed things a season earlier."
Top of the scale
A big-money deal is now on the table for Chamakh - last season's leading goalscorer - as Bordeaux attempt not only to keep him at the club but also avoid losing him for nothing.
But Triaud, who revealed that Les Girondins have even included a low release clause in the new contract, concedes the ball is firmly in Chamakh's court.
"I read that he wasn't financially well considered at Bordeaux," he continued. "When he signed he was a young promising player.
"That's not the case any more but the offer we've made him would put him at the top of the scale.
"We've told him he can have as many years as he wants. Two, three, four years...whatever he wants. We offered him a revaluation of his salary with a retroactive effect back from July 1 2009.
"We're not running after him. He has the cards in his hands. It's up to him to come to us now."
Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc, meanwhile, has reiterated that Chamakh will not be going anywhere in January.
"From January 1st to June 30th, Marouane Chamakh will play at Bordeaux," he stressed.
