Aly Cissokho hopes to earn a new contract at Liverpool, although he accepts he is far from assured of regular first team football.
The France international, who won his only cap in a friendly against Norway in 2010, was once regarded as one of the most promising left fullbacks in Europe, with Milan agreeing to take him from Porto for a fee of around £13million in the summer of 2009. However, when he failed his medical in Italy, he instead signed for Lyon for a similar fee.
Cissokho spent three years at the Stade de Gerland, and helped them win the Coupe de France in 2012 before then moving on to Valencia for a cut-price £5million. Although he featured heavily for the Spanish side last season, he joined the Reds on a season-long loan deal in the summer, and he hopes to earn a permanent move to Anfield.
“It’s a great source of pride for me every day to be able to play with players like this and to represent a big club like Liverpool,” Cissokho told Liverpool’s official website. “It’s a source of pride for all the coaches I had as a youth player. Of course, I am very happy to be here and I hope to stay here. It’s a great city. We have a great training complex, and we all have a lot placed at our disposal to get the best from each player, and that’s a good thing for me.”
The 26-year-old was brought in by Brendan Rodgers to provide competition for Jose Enrique in the starting eleven, but he has so far started four times in comparison to the Spaniard’s six. Yet such a battle for a first team berth is exactly what Cissokho expected, and he remains confident he will have enough opportunities to earn a permanent contract.
“To start with, when you want to play in a team like Liverpool, you have to expect that there’s going to be high level of competition for each place, whether in central defence, midfield or in attack,” he added. “The season is long, and there are a lot of matches to come. The coach makes, and will continue to make, his decisions, and it’s important to respect them so that the team can be in the best shape each Saturday.”
