Bordeaux bring back Chalmé

FC Girondins de Bordeaux have responded to the departure of Julien Faubert by bringing midfielder Mathieu Chalmé back from LOSC Lille Métropole on a four-year contract.

Lille impact
The 26-year-old started his career at the Stade Chaban-Delmas ten years ago but failed to break into the first team and left to join fourth division FC Libourne Saint-Seurin in 2001/02. An impressive campaign in that season's French Cup, in which Libourne reached the quarter-finals – eliminating Lille en route – caught the eye of the Ligue 1 side, who signed Chalmé in 2002. He quickly won a starting place at Lille, going on to make 128 league appearances and appearing in 13 UEFA Champions League ties, helping the French club into the last 16 in 2006/07. He is the fourth significant departure from Lille this summer, after Mathieu Bodmer and Kader Keita joined Olympique Lyonnais and Efstathios Tavlaridis went to AS Saint-Etienne.