The departure of Bacary Sagna has ended a fairytale chapter as Manchester City have announced that the veteran right back will be leaving after this season gets over. The 34-year-old defender moved to Manchester City after a long seven-year stint with Arsenal and if we look closely, it hasn’t been very fruitful except for an FA Cup title for him.
Sagna has been a pretty important player in the Premier League giving consistent performances for both the clubs. Across the seven seasons at the Emirates, he has featured in over 280 games for them. If somewhere anybody would draw up an all time eleven of Arsenal, Sagna’s name would definitely come up. He had given his best in his Arsenal days but a bitter ending to his Arsenal career was the least expected thing.
When Sagna arrived at the Etihad he was still in his prime and had impressed in his first two seasons but the arrival of Pep Guardiola seemed to have ended his stint for the Sky Blues. Pep loves to utilise youngsters heavily and Sagna’s tiring legs couldn’t help him much.
Three Clubs Where the Frenchman can find solace.
Leeds United
This move seems a little bit to do with the current situation as it is most unlikely Sagna would take a step down to the Championship. But life is all about challenges and Sagna might be able to inject some experience to this youthful Leeds side.
The Whites lost their plot as they again failed to make it to the playoffs. Their hopes of returning to the Premier League would depend on how they perform in the next season and for that they would want to have someone who can have an utmost influence to the current squad and whoever becomes the boss would set up a team surrounding him. He also can be the mentor to young Luke Ayling and Lewie Coyle.
Marseille
The French club has been taken over by American businessman Frank McCourt and he invested heavily in this French club. Marseille already signed Dimitri Payet in this January transfer window and can once again raid the Premier League for the veteran defender. Sagna would also love this opportunity as there will be a brief chance to end his career in his homeland.
West Ham United
Alvaro Arbeloa will be leaving at the end of the season and Sam Byram has been far from impressive. The situation was so bad that Slaven Bilic had to deploy Cheikhou Kouyaté on the right side. The arrival of Sagna would definitely give Bilic a lot of options to ponder over.
