Bruno Cheyrou netted a memorable winner against Chelsea on this day 20 years ago – and one member of the ECHO team was convinced he was the new Zinedine Zidane

“Bruno has got great skill, good vision and an eye for the pass. I don’t make comparisons with Zidane lightly and I believe he can become an important player for Liverpool.

“He has the same kind of touch and style that Zidane has. There’s a lot of similarities between the two when they’re on the ball.”

Gerard Houllier’s comments caused a bit of a stir.

Bruno Cheyrou had just joined Liverpool from Lille for a fee of £4m. And his new manager reached for the boldest comparison of them all to welcome him.

But this was a club riding a winning wave of momentum, under a boss who seemingly possessed the golden touch. Houllier had led Liverpool to successive fourth, third and second-placed finishes in the league. Not forgetting, of course, that magnificent cup treble collected along the way.

On the transfer front, there was every reason to back Houllier, too. Especially in this department.

Jean-Michel Ferri may have been a curious one and Igor Biscan was usually half asleep. Houllier, though, was a man who correctly saw more mileage in Gary McAllister despite how much was already on the clock. And Dietmar Hamann cost a whole £8m more than the Scot but was an equally inspired signing.

It was clear Houllier had an eye for midfield talent. And that view was supported when Liverpool welcomed Lazio for a pre-season friendly in July 2002. This was the first glimpse the home fans got of Cheyrou. Zidane’s heir apparent did not disappoint.

Anfield purred and roared at what the 24-year-old did on that Tuesday night under the lights. For me and many others present it was love at first sight. While the white boots were questionable, every touch was assured.

There were repeated snapshots of impressive control, vision and technique; an early piledriver tipped over by the Lazio keeper and another rasping drive just about collected. Before half time, chants of ‘Bruno, Bruno’ were already ringing around the stadium.

The thrills continued after the break, with the new recruit trying an audacious chip from just inside the box that went narrowly over.

Cheyrou ran the show for the 73 minutes he was on the pitch. He could have planted a Tricolour in the centre circle and conducted the Kop in a chorus of La Marseillaise, if he so desired.

After the final whistle, the 1-0 defeat was dismissed with a collective Gallic shrug. We spilled out of the ground safe in the knowledge that the final piece of the jigsaw had been secured.

“Reckon he’s going to be great this fella. Imagine him playing behind Owen every week. He’s exactly what we’ve been missing.”

“I know, son. I know.”

By the time we got back to the car, we were fully invested in our new French hero and my dad was wondering if he could get away with a beret. Sadly, all hope was soon extinguished.

Cheyrou simply never got going for the Reds.

Liverpool may have lifted the League Cup that term – but for the Frenchman personally it was a case of 29 games, one goal and plenty of unfulfilled expectations.

Houllier doubled down and insisted: “Like other French players before him, he probably needs a little more time. Remember the first season at Arsenal? Everyone laughed at Robert Pires.”

Cheyrou did threaten a renaissance in the January of 2004. He scored twice against Newcastle United to knock them out of the FA Cup in a memorable late kick-off at home on a Saturday.

And he notched his first league goal in a 1-0 win at Chelsea, releasing Emile Heskey down the right and converting a pinpoint cross after bursting into the box.

But the flame only flickered briefly. Aside from another strike away to Wolves in a 1-1 draw, there was little else to get excited about.

Rafael Benitez concurred. Cheyrou was quickly shipped out on loan when the Spaniard took over – first to Marseille and later to Bordeaux – before a permanent switch to Rennes, which he completed on this day in 2006.

But we will always have that Lazio game and all the belief that brought. For more than an hour that evening, Cheyrou really did look like the next Zidane.

There was no shame in buying into it. Je ne regrette rien.

Football needs misses to balance out the hits and I would not change a thing. Except, of course, for those white boots.

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Stunning Man Utd cash-plus-player bid tipped to succeed, with Prem ace’s signing unlocked through major sacrifice

Steve Pearson 9 hours ago

 

 

 

 

Manchester United can beat Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to the signing of an in-demand Premier League winger by including a major star in a tantalising cash-plus-player deal, according to reports.

While a transfer is highly unlikely this month, the future of Crystal Palace ace, Michael Olise, may well lay away from Selhurst Park come the summer.

The classy left-footer, 22, is rapidly becoming one of the Premier League’s most in-demand attackers. Indeed, Olise counts Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea among his admirers.

Chelsea actually activated the £35m release clause in Olise’s contract last summer. However, Olise rejected the chance to join the Blues, instead signing a new contract with Palace that also raised the value of the clause.

The exact figure the new release clause is set at has not been revealed. The Mirror suggested it’s in the £60m region, while TEAMtalk’s own sources have told us it’s actually closer to £45m.

Regardless, either sum would represent good value for a player who is adding more and more end product to his displays. Indeed, Olise’s 46 Premier League appearances since the beginning of last season have returned 19 goal contributions.

Football Transfers claimed Olise’s preferred move if leaving Palace is joining Arsenal. However, the chance to join Man City could be difficult to ignore if Pep Guardiola decides to add a left-footer to his forward line. City are yet to adequately replace the left-footed Riyad Mahrez.

Chelsea’s interest has maintained despite the fact they pulled off a masterstroke when signing Cole Palmer once Olise snubbed their approach.

Liverpool too have been linked in recent days, with Olise perhaps representing a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah.

However, according to the Daily Star, all those clubs could be beaten to the punch by Man Utd who by way of a cash-plus-player deal, can offer a more enticing package.

Wan-Bissaka the key to Ratcliffe dream

The Red Devils are desperate to place Olise on their right flank, with the Evening Standard recently claiming the winger has been installed as one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s key targets ahead of the summer window.

United will have a much bigger transfer budget at that time, though per the Star, they could sweeten any deal by adding Aaron-Wan-Bissaka to the mix.

The right-back is behind Diogo Dalot in the pecking order and his attacking limitations make him a poor fit for Erik ten Hag.

Wan-Bissaka cost £50m when signed from Crystal Palace back in 2019 and per the Star, the Eagles are interested in bringing the 26-year-old back.

It’s claimed Man Utd could use that interest to their advantage and serve up Wan-Bissaka in a cash-plus-player offer to entice Palace into selling Olise. Doing so would also net United a handy saving when not forced to pay the full release fee.

United triggered the one-year option in Wan-Bissaka’s contract on January 4. Doing so – according to the Manchester Evening News – was with a view to protecting the club’s investment ahead of a future sale.

That sale could come next summer as part of a stunning part-exchange for Olise. Indeed, the report concludes Palace are ‘hot’ for Wan-Bissaka and their interest in re-signing the right-back puts United in a ‘stronger position’ than their transfer rivals.