Gerets thrilled to capture Koné

Olympique de Marseille coach Erik Gerets has won his fight to sign Bakary Koné after the UEFA Champions League hopefuls agreed to pay OGC Nice a reported €10m for their Ivorian international striker.

No contract details have been revealed and the 26-year-old is still to pass a medical, but Gerets could not hide his delight at finally landing a player who scored 14 goals in 30 Ligue 1 outings last term.

"I fought to get this player on board," said the Belgian. "I have to thank my directors for this transfer. Should Koné do for us what he did for Nice last season then it would be fantastic." The former FC Lorient forward joins fellow signings Hatem Ben Arfa, Hilton, Elamin Erbate and Rudy Riou at OM, who will feature in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.