Chelsea told to name their price for Florent Malouda by former club Lyon

Lyon have asked Chelsea to name their price for out-of-favour winger Florent Malouda, as they plot an ambitious attempt to lure him back to the Stade Gerland.

Florent Malouda joined Chelsea from Lyon for £13m five years ago

France international Malouda, who joined the Blues from Lyon in 2007, has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge following the arrivals of Eden Hazard, Victor Moses, Marko Marin and Oscar over the summer.

And despite being urged to fight for his place by manager Roberto Di Matteo, the 32-year-old is targeting a return to his native France in the final stages of their transfer window this week.

It is understood that former club Lyon are the only side to express significant interest in the player at the moment, and they have already approached Chelsea to discuss how much a deal could potentially cost.
Malouda has since been left out of Chelsea's 25-man Champions League squad.

Di Matteo is keen to recoup a portion of the £13 million paid out to Lyon five years ago, but the Ligue 1 club are only willing to hand over around £1 million, with his hefty £110,000-a-week wages already proving to be a financial burden.

All parties are searching for a compromise, and Malouda is even willing to go on-loan with a view to a permanent deal, in a bid to get the transfer done.

The news comes in a week when Chelsea have dramatically slashed their escalating wage bill, having offloaded Yossi Benayoun to West Ham, albeit on loan, and Raul Meireles to Fenerbache for £8 million.