Morientes moves close to a Marseille switch

Former Liverpool and Valencia striker Fernando Morientes is moving towards a surprising Ligue 1 return as he is set to link up with former coach Didier Deschamps at Marseille.

The Spanish striker who made his Ligue 1 debut with As Monaco, on loan from Real Madrid in 2003, proved to be an impact player as he led the club to a Champions League final against Porto FC.

With four Champions League finals and three winner’s medal with Real Madrid, Morientes will now look to link up with Deschamps, who was instrumental in bringing the Spaniard to the principality.

“We’ll see if he signs, but for the moment, nothing is finalized,” said Deschamps.

“I know him well, and that’s important for me. He could bring us the things that he’s been doing for years and his goalscoring quality.”

After leaving Monaco, Morientes had unsuccesful stints with Real, Liverpool and Valencia, where the experienced striker’s contract expired this summer.

But Deschamps is convinced the triple Champions League winner still has much to offer and is hoping that the well-travelled striker can have a similar impact at the Stade Vélodrome.

“I know that people will say that he’s 33, but when you score goals, you score goals,” said the French 1998 World Cup-winning captain.

“Pippo Inzaghi is still scoring at 36 and Del Piero is 35. He’s 33 today, but the same quality and four years younger is inaccessible for us, and that has to be taken into account too.”

With Greek giants Olympiakos and Turkish heavyweights Fenerbahçe also in the lookout for the 33-year-old, Morientes’ agent has revealed that Marseille are a top priority for the player.

“He’ll not look at any other solution as long as there’s a chance of going to Marseille,” said Carvajal, who admitted that Deschamps’ presence at OM is a major factor.

“Deschamps is like a sporting father-figure for him. There is mutual respect and trust between the pair of them. Fernando has always told me that if another opportunity arose to work with Deschamps, he would take it, no matter where.”

He added: “Of course we’ll discuss the financial aspect. But if there is common interest, it’s logical that we’ll come to an agreement quickly.