Olivier Kemen admits that the most difficult part of Lyon signing him this summer was convincing Newcastle United to sell.
The young midfielder did not manage a single senior first team appearance for the Magpies, but was highly rated at St. James' Park following promising displays in the Under-21 Premier League and progress with the France Under-19 side.
Kemen attracted interest within England from Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, while Monaco were keen to take him back to France, along with Lyon.
Les Gones eventually won the race after bringing Newcastle to the negotiating table and Kemen is happy to be at the Stade Gerland.
"OL managed everything well, they did everything straight", he told Foot Mercato.
relatedNewsStory
"The hardest part was with Newcastle, but Lyon managed everything well and made sure this could happen.
"Many clubs were interested and it's true that there were talks with Monaco, but OL's project is strong", Kemen continued.
"Lyon is a great club, everyone knows that."
Indeed, Kemen admits when he learned that Lyon were interested he abandoned thoughts of signing for any other club.
"My hope in the transfer window was to sign for Lyon.
"As soon as I heard about OL, I left all other possibilities to focus on Lyon."
The Ligue 1 side paid Newcastle a fee of €700,000 to capture Kemen, who penned a four-year deal with the club.
