TAIWO FINALLY QUITS MARSEILLE

By NBF News

Taye
Super Eagles' defender, Taye Taiwo, has revealed that he will finally quit French club, Olympique Marseille, on a free in the summer.

'I will be a free agent in the summer and I have already signed a contract with another club in Europe but will not reveal its identity now,' the leftback told reporters in Lagos, where he was for a friendly against Sierra Leone.

His likely destination will be England or Spain, where Atletico Madrid were reportedly interested in signing him in the summer.

Taiwo disclosed that he had refused to sign a contract extension at Marseille and that explained his being in and out of the time recently.

The 25-year-old star defender joined Marseille in 2004. Last year, he won a league and League Cup double with OM.

As Taiwo is set to depart , les Phoceens is also eyeing potential successors, who are thought to be high on their list. OM has virtually given up hope of securing the African to a longer-term deal and will instead consider the possibility of snapping up Tremoulinas.

The relationship between Marseille and Bordeaux on the transfer front has been rocky over the past couple of years. Les Girondins was unhappy with the manner in which OM lured Souleymane Diawara away from the Stade Chaban-Delmas 18 months ago and was equally disgruntled last summer when les Phoceens went public with its desire to sign Alou Diarra.

Taiwo was brought in to fill the void. The Nigerian left back is also known for his powerful strikes. He scored Marseille's winning goal against Olympique Lyonnais on 21 March 2010, with a powerful left-footed strike. He also scored Marseilles's winning goal against US Boulogne on 17 April 2010. He is the second vice captain of his club.

He scored two goals during the competition which enabled Nigeria to reach the final (lost 2-0) against Argentina). He was designated the third best player of the tournament behind second placed Nigerian.