Lorik Cana: Spurs Favourites for Marseille Midfield Enforcer as Arsenal & Liverpool Miss Out
Tottenham are favourites to win the race for the signature of one of the stars of French football…the Albanian midfielder Lorik Cana this summer. The list of reported admirers for the Marseille captain includes Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool.
Cana is a 25-year-old defensive midfielder with a reputation as a hard man in French football after numerous booking and red cards following his 7-season spell in France for both PSG and Marseille. The 6 ft 1 star is a cult figure at the Stade Velodrome for his no-nonsense displays and is more than physically equipped for English football.
The player has openly admitted to his interest in a move when he told Aujourd ‘Hui Sport, “The door remains open for a departure, even with three years remaining on my contract.
“I will talk with my family and my representatives at the end of the season. It will then depend on what I want to do. I believe that if I want to leave, everyone at this club will respect my decision.
“It is not certain that I will be terminating my contract though. I am in no rush.
“Of the possible destinations in the future, England and Germany are the two leagues that attract me the most.”
Cana was born in the former Yugoslavia but as a youngster moved to Switzerland to escape the war. His father was a famous footballer himself in Yugoslavia in the 1980’s. The defensive midfielder joined Swiss outfit Lausanne Sports but moved to PSG in 2000 despite only being a youth team player at the time without making a first team appearance.
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The midfield enforcer broke into the PSG first team during the 2002/03 season and went on to make 69 league appearances for the club while scoring twice. During this time he attracted the attention of a number of top European clubs including Arsenal who invited him for trials which he could not attend due to visa issues. Arsene Wenger has been a long-term admirer and with Cesc Fabregas pleading for a midfield hardman this summer, Cana would be an obvious choice although Felipe Melo is the club’s number one target.
Cana moved to Marseille during the 2005/06 season and has since made 122 league appearances for the club and scored 6 goals. He took over the captaincy of the club from Habib Beye who joined Newcastle in 2007 and led Marseille to the runners-up spot in the French championship behind Bordeaux last season.
Despite being born in the former Yugoslavia and brought up in Switzerland, Cana chose Albania to represent at international level explaining that he went with his heart rather than his head. He has passports for France, Switzerland and Albania. Cana broke into his national side in 2003 aged 19. He has now featured a total of 37 times and scored once.
Merseyside clubs Liverpool and Everton have also been strongly linked to the aggressive midfield star who would certainly add more steel and height to both line-ups. Tottenham are favourites though and a midfield pairing of Cana and Wilson Palacios would be one of the most feared physically in the Premier League. After all, Cana has been booked 62 times and red carded 4 times in just 191 league appearances in French football.
Would you like Lorik Cana in your midfield next season? Is the hardman perfect for your team or do you seem his as a liability? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Albania, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Lorik Cana, Marseille, PSG, Tottenham
June 26th, 2009 at 12:01
Graham Roberts, Dave Mckay all rolled into one. What a prospect. However with the amount of cards he picks up, how many ganes a season would he complete?
June 26th, 2009 at 12:01
looks an absolute liability. Spurs don’t need a player like this
June 26th, 2009 at 12:04
Harry must get this guy at all costs. Better off to partner with Wilson.We must be feared to break into the top 4.
Let it be the right choice this time around.We cannot be languishing in the middle all the time. Come ‘ on !
June 26th, 2009 at 12:13
Harry must get this guy at all costs.
He’ll be an asset to us.Good midfielders are hard to come by.To partner Wilson Palacios will scare the hel out of the other teams.We have to break into the top 4.We,ve been languishing in the mid table for too long.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:41
I don’t remeber seeing him play but he would be a good fit in a strong Spurs midfield. We need to be stronger with only palacios able to physically compete at the moment. Could be a good move.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:52
Matey, A liability????
You shouldnt post while drunk. !
Tottenham would be very lucky to get him, this guy is pure quality. This article doesnt say he has just 2 reds in the last 2 seasons..Not so bad for a hard man. Did you also catch that he is the captain?..?
Im an Arsenal fan and ill be gutted if you get him but at least ill get to see him play.
June 26th, 2009 at 13:22
wtf!!!
i never thought i’d see the day…a french Robbie Savage, but bigger, better, stronger and more dirtier!
June 26th, 2009 at 13:25
i never thought i’d see the day…a french Robbie Savage, but bigger, better, stronger and more dirtier!
June 26th, 2009 at 13:33
Looks rubbish, dirty and an all round donkey!
June 26th, 2009 at 13:45
Billy …”We have to break into the top 4″
Oh god do we really have to go down this road again. Come on Billy boy just give up already. Did you know Santa Claus is not real, fairytales dont come true mate.
June 26th, 2009 at 14:17
Great…the video shows a real ‘feast of fouls’..many of which he would have been sent off for in the Premier League.
If he does make it here he won’t last more than 20 mins on the pitch. Very risky purchase I would say unless your happy to be down to 10 men on a regular basis.
June 26th, 2009 at 14:35
He is top drawer, a real winner, he is not crazy he is intimidating and would give Spurs strength and power we have lacked for years. Palacios and him would be awesome pairing to rival any other in the PL
June 26th, 2009 at 14:57
Take no notice of the headlines….we all know the media talk rubbish! They just want to give fickle fans hope!
I have heard about him, not sure if he is great though…
If he does want to come to the Premiership, the questions he should ask himself are;
Do I want to play in the Champions League?
Do I want to play with World Class players?
Do I want to play in an amazing stadium?
Then we will see if he has any ambition or not.
June 26th, 2009 at 15:57
He needs to go to Arsenal. I remember Viera playing the same way so I don’t know why some of you are saying he would keep getting red cards. How do you know, you probably have never seen him play for Marseille. He has to go to Arsenal if he wants to win a meaningful trophy, the money is always going to be there as he is one of the best holding midfielders in the world.
June 26th, 2009 at 19:42
Get stuffed Gooners, everyone knows you haven’t got two pennies to rub together - unless you sell the fickle Fabregas that is… Come on home to White Hart Lane!
June 26th, 2009 at 19:50
X factor what would you lot no bout winning meaningful trophies. You have a history for some winning but so do we, so get a grip…
June 26th, 2009 at 21:12
Wenger knows the CDM position is one he must strengthen at Arsenal THIS SUMMER. So he has some choices to make: Melo, Cana, Veloso and another 2 DM players in France. No matter who he chooses they must be able to add steel to the midfield but be flexible as well. He must be able to adapt to Premiership as well as Wengerball. While the first may be no problem for most of these guys the second might be.
Lorik Cana for all the hooplah about him and his hard-aggressive nature I don’t know if he could play in Arsene’s system. My choice…Felipe Melo. He’s Brazillian, (notice Wenger’s ideal CDM-French or Brazillian)has experience, and can fit right into the system. He is also the PERFECT role model for Denilson, Diaby, and Song. They will be learning from a world-class DM. Lorik Cana would be a close second.
He’ll buy boys…don’t worry about that.
gooner4lyf
June 26th, 2009 at 21:12
x factor u cock why would he go to ar5enal wenger only likes young boys not proven grownups,so go back to the no atmosphere deathstar and look at that pile of ikea flatpack u call a ground,thats where all your money has gone.
June 26th, 2009 at 21:45
Lets get real spurs fans, if Arsenal or Liverpool really wanted this guy then there is no way he would go to tottenham. Its just a fact of life.
June 27th, 2009 at 00:12
What a nutter!
Put it this way, I would rather him wear a spurs shirt than him play for any other PL team. He scares the poop outa me. Lots of late tackles, but seems to play with 100% heart and had some nice touches. With Harrys man management skills, im sure he will make a great signing.
COYS
June 27th, 2009 at 00:32
Spurs don’t need this guy. A midfield with Palacios and Cana will have zero creativity. If anyone get him it will be Arsenal but I can see him being a hindrance to Wenger’s quick passing philosophy because he doesn’t offer much on the attacking side.
June 27th, 2009 at 01:57
Anti Idiot Party
Lorik Cana has not only played in the Champions League, but he was the Captain of Marseille when they played in the CL.
This guy was scouted by Arsenal, Real Madrid, and PSG when he was 16. The only reason why he went to PSG is because France was the only country that gave him a visa. England denied it, or he would have been the captain of Arsenal now. Arsene Wegner is a HUGE fan of this guy.
And he has played with World Class Players and Against Wold Class Players. Just a couple years ago he had Franck Ribery on his team. And he captained Marseille when they played in the CL.
June 29th, 2009 at 13:17
As a Liverpool fan i’d take him. He may have been carded on the continent. But refs let more go here. Viera and Keane used to get booked a lot and neither man u or arse could do without them. Neither have ever been replaced.
July 1st, 2009 at 06:54
Spurs lead for Cana?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha
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Sorry…I mean, you’re joking, right?
No, sorry, the Spurs do not “lead” for Cana.