Garcia: Debuchy wants out

29 June 2012 14:42

Lille coach Rudi Garcia has confirmed Mathieu Debuchy wants to leave the club, but said he will not be sold until a suitable replacement is found.

Debuchy's future has looked uncertain since the end of the French season after he helped Lille finish in third place before going on to represent France at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Newcastle United and Inter are just two of the clubs believed to be interested in the full-back but Garcia said he will not be going anywhere until a quality replacement is found.

"Mathieu wants to go," Garcia told RMC. "But we do not have a plan for him to leave, so he will not go unless I find a replacement of the same level.

"And he is an international player, he will not go cheap - we will need to bring in a right-sided player of the same calibre and that requires a lot of money.

"If we find a player, it will cost us and we will have to pay that.

"Mathieu is one of my leaders, one of my major players and he is an example to follow. I understand his desire to leave, but we must find a replacement - my role is not to put my team in jeopardy."