Central defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has targeted a return to the France squad for UEFA EURO 2016 after completing a move from Roma to Lyon last week for an initial €8m.
"There will be a lot of expectation around me and I am going to do everything to live up to that. With Lyon, our objective is to have a good season in all competitions and notably finish in the top three in the league, and then after that, why not think about the Euro," said the 26-year-old defender, who was born in the Central African Republic.
Yanga-Mbiwa targets EURO 2016 after joining Lyon
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
Yanga-Mbiwa is back in France, where he previously starred in the Montpellier team that won the Ligue 1 title in 2012, after spells at Newcastle United and in the Italian capital. He has won four caps for Les Bleus, all under current coach Didier Dschamps, the most recent coming in a friendly against Albania in November last year.
France will host next year's European Championship as they look to repeat their feat of 1984, when they were crowned continental champions on home soil.
OL turned to Yanga-Mbiwa to strengthen their defence ahead of their return to the UEFA Champions League group stage after previously failing in a bid to sign Cameroon international Nicolas Nkoulou from Marseille. "He is a player who has the objective of playing at the Euro and, unlike Nicolas Nkoulou, he will not pose any problems when it comes to the Africa Cup of Nations," declared Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.
The fee for Yanga-Mbiwa could eventually rise to €10m with bonuses. Lyon recorded their first win of the new French season at the weekend, beating Guingamp 1-0 thanks to a goal from another summer signing, forward Claudio Beauvue.
- Agence France-Presse