Monaco boost midfield options with Vainqueur signing

12 January 2019 - 16:20
By Linda Kea Moreotsene and Reuters
The well traveled 30 year old Vainqueur, 30 impressed the Monaco top brass with his motivation, despite his current calf problem.
Image: BERTRAND LANGLOIS / AFP The well traveled 30 year old Vainqueur, 30 impressed the Monaco top brass with his motivation, despite his current calf problem.

Trailblazing South African international Lyle Foster's French team Monaco has signed midfielder William Vainqueur.

The French side has struggled this season and are currently rooted on the 19th spot of Ligue 1, and have been looking to boost their playing staff. 

They recently unveiled Spaniard Cesc Fabregas in a bid to escape the relegation zone and reinforce their midfield. 

Frenchman Vainqueur joins the principality club on loan from Antalyaspor until the end of the season.

Vainqueur, 30, currently has a calf problem but Monaco said on Saturday they had been won over by the motivation of the former Nantes, Standard liege, Dynamo Moscow and Roma player.

The arrival of the ex-France Under-21 international, who had a loan spell at Olympique de Marseille in 2016-17, comes after Spain international Fabregas signed a 3-1/2 year deal on Friday.

Coach Thierry Henry is under pressure with Monaco second- bottom in Ligue 1, five points adrift of the safety zone. 

The 18-year-old former Orlando Pirates man Foster meanwhile signed a deal that will see him working with Henry until June 2023.

Foster came into prominence on the South African football stage when he became the youngest Orlando Pirates player to score an official goal with a strike against Polokwane City at the age of 17 years, four months and 16 days.