Pedretti agrees Auxerre switch
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Article summary
France midfielder Benoît Pedretti has joined AJ Auxerre for a reported fee of €6m while Senegal striker Moussa N'Diaye has arrived from FC Istres.
Article body
France midfielder Benoît Pedretti has left champions Olympique Lyonnais to sign a three-season deal with AJ Auxerre for a reported €6m fee while Senegal striker Moussa N'Diaye has joined from FC Istres.
Fernandez link
The Pedretti deal will reunite the 25-year-old - who has 22 international caps - with the coach who gave him his chance as a teenager at FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in the 1999/00 campaign, Jean Fernandez. Pedretti landed at Lyon last summer after one season with Olympique de Marseille and proved a fine replacement for Juninho Pernambucano when needed, impressing in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final defeat by AC Milan.
N'Diaye arrives
With Mahamadou Diarra having been sold to Real Madrid CF, Pedretti had hoped to be a regular at the Stade Gerland this term but failed to feature in Lyon's opening four league games. Following Pedretti to Auxerre is 27-year-old N'Diaye, who has accepted a contract until 2008 at the Stade Abbé Deschamps. The forward scored five goals on loan at AC Ajaccio last season. Auxerre will tackle NK Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup first round.