Coquelin says there has been interest from Ligue 1 sides in adding him to their squad, but according to him, Lille OSC decided to go with a different profile player, as did Montpellier HSC.

Speaking to L’Équipe, the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League champion has set a deadline as to when he hopes to find a club.

“I have the motivation, but if at the end of January, I’m not in a club that I’m interested in, we’re going to start asking questions,” says Coquelin.

An under-19 European champion with France in 2010, Coquelin spent eight seasons in North London with the Gunners before a loan spell in France at FC Lorient.

He featured in 24 Ligue 1 fixtures for them that season, with the 33-year-old playing the rest of his senior career in foreign leagues in Spain, Germany and England.

His first senior goal at club level came during his brief spell in Ligue 1, while he has only netted five times in his senior club career.

The defensive midfielder has never been called up to the French senior squad despite featuring for a number of their youth teams. Before joining the Arsenal academy, Coquelin was a part of the youth setup at Stade Lavallois from 2005-2008.

Despite failing to find a club during the summer transfer window, Coqeulin says that he isn’t disappointed, noting that plenty of big names were not signed as well.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

The former player arrived at Stade Lavallois in 2021 but after a series of injuries debilitated his career, he was forced to retire near the end of last season. The now-retired striker has argued that he’s neither a conspiracy theorist nor an anti-vaxxer, but he would like the courts to explore whether there is a link between his injuries and the vaccine. 

Fumu Tamuzo stated to France Bleu, “I would like to understand why my body stopped functioning,” with the former player alleging that he suffered a series of injuries around the same time that he was vaccinated against the disease. 

Fumu Tamuzo takes legal action against Pfizer, BioNTech, and FFF

Along with Pfizer and BioNTech, Fumu Tamuzo is also taking legal action against the French Football Federation, because as his lawyer explains, “At the time Fumu Tamuzo was vaccinated (July 2021) vaccination was not compulsory. It would later become so for professional footballers. I consider that the FFF has a responsibility in this story. It built a health protocol before the introduction of a law.” 

A hearing will take place on the 2nd of July in Paris where the courts will decide whether to appoint a panel of experts to establish whether or not there was a causal link between his injuries and the vaccination. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

The midfielder speaking exclusively to L’Équipe blames this lack of recognition on his personality, “Given my titles, my European career… I refused to expose myself to the media so I can’t complain. It matches my upbringing, my personality.” 

“I wanted to concentrate solely on football and told myself that recognition would come through my performances.” He explains, “I have no regrets. I’m not looking for the spotlight. My goal was to be a professional player and have a career.” 

However, he continued that he would not advise an upcoming professional to do the same. “If I meet a young person who has big ambitions, I would advise them not to neglect the media’s role. To be more easily recruited perhaps.” 

‘Every player dreams of representing their country’ – Francis Coquellin 

Whether this was enough to explain why he had not been selected for the France national side, Coquelin was to the point. “My injuries slowed me down at times too. And at the time when I was doing well at Arsenal, there was huge competition in midfield.” 

However, Coquelin continued, “There are players who have been there and who, in my opinion, were not better than me. I think I could have had one, but it didn’t happen and I have no regrets. Even if every player dreams of representing their country.” 

Despite a career that has largely gone unnoticed in France, the Villarreal player would be interested in returning to his home. “Obviously, I sometimes miss France and I want to go back there. I had discussions with several clubs, notably with Lyon. And if there is an interesting project, I’m not closed to the possibility.” 

On that note, Coquelin still pays attention to the fortunes of Stade Lavallois, the club he originally trained at before being picked up by the Arsenal youth system. “I saw their match against Grenoble Foot (on  Monday). We’re not bad, we’re within two points of Angers SCO (2nd in Ligue 2)! I hope Laval go up. There are three players I played with who are still on the team (Maxime Hautbois, Anthony Gonçalves, and Kévin Perrot). I’ll have to send them a message to give them a little boost.”

For now, the midfielder remains focused on the task at hand for Villarreal. They need to overturn the mountainous 4-0 deficit against Olympique de Marseille to remain within the Europa League. A situation that Coquelin summarises as “Very complicated.” 

FT | Marseille 4-0 Villarreal: Four in four for Gasset's side as the improvement from Gattuso looks immeasurable.

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) March 7, 2024

GFFN | Nick Hartland

The goalkeeper for Ligue 2 side, Stade Lavallois, had been included in his nation’s preliminary squad for the tournament after his performances for Les Tango had earned him recognition from the Mali national coach, Eric Sekou Chelle. 

Samssa since joining Laval in the summer has become an undisputed starter for the side in their promotion chase, which is an impressive feat, when according to L’Équipe the goalkeeper had considered giving up on the sport before the transfer. 

The Mali international considers Laval as key to the recovery of his career having struggled to find consistent football for the last few years, and explained to Chelle that he could not in good conscience leave them. 

It appears that Chelle has understood and accepted Samassa’s reasonings and the national federation will not look to sanction the player for refusing to represent the nation. 

The Mali coach also noted that this move will not necessarily rule out the goalkeeper from future call-ups, but for now, Samassa will not be a part of the Mali campaign.

GFFN | Nick Hartland

The goalkeeper was included in the preliminary squad for Mali but according to Sports News Africa will not join up with his national side when they compete in the upcoming tournament. 

Samassa has excelled at the Ligue 2 side since arriving in the summer as a free agent, and will reportedly reject his international duties in favour of remaining with Laval while the competition takes place. 

In a quotation provided by France Bleu, the president of Laval, Laurent Lairy, referred to a ‘moral agreement’ that the goalkeeper made when he joined the club, where it is alleged that Samassa assured the club during negotiations that he would refuse to compete in the tournament. 

What could be described as a creative solution to a lengthy absence for Samassa will likely not work as intended. Refusing an international call-up without the agreement of the national federation could lead to a ban and a sanction imposed on the player as it contravenes FIFA regulations. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland 

The Savoy side, who eliminated Marseille in the Coupe de France quarter-finals, lost to Paris FC last Friday night. They are 16th and, as of now, safe. But their survival is now out of their hands following the suspension and cancellation of the Bordeaux vs Rodez game. Rodez are 17th and currently in the drop zone. But RAF were leading 1-0 against Les Girondins when their goal-scorer was assaulted by a Bordeaux fan. The league authorities will convene on Monday to adjudicate on the game’s result. Rodez are likely to be be declared winners. Should that be the case, they would be safe and Annecy would join Niort, Nîmes and Dijon in the third tier.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Laval are known for having developed players such as Serhou Guirassy and Nordi Mukiele. The latter is now plying his trade at Paris Saint-Germain. However, the club’s academy has since closed. Lairy has said that should the club remain in Ligue 2 next season, the centre will re-open, but with a catch. 

Should players want to join the academy, they will have to pay between €1500 and €2000, the president has announced. Lairy explained his controversial decision. “It’s a choice and I stand by it. I want the parents to financially contribute to the young player’s integration. I’m fed up with everything being free in football. Nobody respects anybody and I will therefore ask for a financial contribution,” he said. 

Stade Laval are currently 15th in Ligue 2 and therefore set to avoid the drop into the National 1. Afer 26 games played, they have 31 points, six more than Rodez, who occupy the final relegation place. The chances of the club’s academy centre re-opening are therefore strong, but it won’t be accessible to all. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Solet left Lyon in 2020 to join the Red Bull side, where he has won the Austrian Bundesliga on two occasions, completing the double with the Austrian cup last season – in which he made 33 appearances as a regular starter at 22 years old.

Last season also gave Solet the chance to play in the Champions League, where he featured  in a tough group which included games against Sevilla, Wolfsburg, Lille and German giants Bayern Munich. 

At international level the centre-back has appeared 12 times for France’s U20 side, but only twice for the U20 team. At Laval Solet made 15 appearances in the National 1, and after a move to Lyon made 37 appearances in total for Les Gones’ B team, only appearing four times for the senior side. 

GFFN

After a 3-0 win over Chambly this evening, the club from Western France attained an unassailable lead in the race for promotion from France’s third division, National, led by Laval with two games to play.

A prominent top tier side in the late seventies and early eighties, Laval haven’t been part of Ligue 1 since they were relegated in 1989.

Annecy currently sit second, three points back in the second automatic promotion spot, while Villfranche lie third, a further four points behind.

The current Laval (3rd division) prospect will shortly pen a deal on professional terms with Les Gones, in a move that sees OL beat Juventus, who were in pole position for several weeks, to the punch.

This deal has been orchestrated by Lyon’s Head of Scouting Florian Maurice, for a player in Wissa who has played for France at U16 level.