Joey Barton is back in Marseille for further transfer talks with the Ligue 1 club and is hopeful that an agreement can be reached.
Midfielder keen to link up with French side as talks are reopened
Joey Barton is back in Marseille for further transfer talks with the Ligue 1 club and is hopeful that an agreement can be reached.
It appeared at one stage as if the midfielder, who has been frozen out at Queens Park Rangers, would be forced to look elsewhere for a summer switch, with discussions in France breaking down.
Barton has, however, returned to Stade Velodrome on Wednesday and is looking forward to hearing what Marseille have to offer.
The 29-year-old appears to have no future at Loftus Road, with QPR having turned their back on him after seeing the one-cap England international stung with a 12-match suspension.
Mark Hughes is open to the idea of moving Barton on, and the player is keen to make a fresh start following a disappointing 12 months in London.
He believes a switch to Marseille would be ideal and is hoping the latest round of discussions will produce a positive outcome.
Compromise
"I'm going there with an open mind," Barton told
Sky Sports News HD.
"I'll speak to Marseille and see what it's about. I would really like to join them, I've told people that before. It's a club that will suit me, that appeals to me for the sheer size of it.
"It's not going exactly to plan at QPR, there is a difference of opinion. Hopefully we can find a compromise.
"The alternative, which I have expressed to QPR, is that I go.
"I'm not really part of it and I've got the best union in the world protecting me. I would be well within my rights to sit for the next three years and pick my money up, but that isn't me."
