Real land Albiol
Lyon insist Karim Benzema is staying at the club after Real Madrid enquired about the striker.
A host of leading European clubs are chasing the young forward with Inter Milan and Manchester United, as well as Madrid, among the clubs reportedly considering a 40 million euro (£34million) bid.
The news came as Madrid confirmed they have reached an agreement with Valencia to sign defender Raul Albiol for a reported £12million.
Speculation has increased that the Spanish giants are set to up their efforts to bring Benzema to the Bernabeu after failing in their bid to land Valencia striker David Villa.
Lyon, and the player himself, have always claimed he will remain at the Stade Gerland at least until next summer's World Cup and the club are confident that will happen.
"The only new fact is that Real Madrid got in contact with us a few days ago to know the position of the club on the subject of Karim Benzema,'' Lyon's director of communications Olivier Blanc told Marca.
"Benzema and Lyon confirmed their initial desire of him staying here. We know that the player wants to stay a year longer at Lyon and that we want to keep him.''
Benzema came through the ranks at the French giants and burst onto the scene in the 2007-08 season with 31 goals in 51 games, a streak that saw him named Ligue 1 player of the year as well as top the league's scoring charts.
The last campaign was less impressive for both club and player, as Lyon ended the season without the Ligue 1 title for the first time in eight years, but the France forward nevertheless scored 23 goals in all competitions - an average of a goal every other game.
Albiol, who is currently on international duty with Spain at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, will undergo a medical next week and, if all goes well, will pen a five-year deal with Madrid before being presented.
Although no fee has been officially announced, media reports suggest that Madrid will pay in the region of 15million euros (£12.8million) for the centre-back.
Comments