Lyon's Fred seeking fresh start

(CNN) -- The French league may lack the quality in depth of the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A or the Spanish Liga, but in recent years the Championnat has acquired a reputation as a useful finishing academy for young players, French and otherwise.

With Franck Ribery taking the Bundesliga by storm with Bayern Munich and players such as Mathieu Flamini and Gael Clichy of Arsenal, Patrice Evra of Manchester United and Michael Essien and Didier Drogba of Chelsea impressing in the English Premier League -- not to mention Thierry Henry at Barcelona, David Trezeguet at Juventus and Philippe Mexes at Roma -- France has become an important scouting ground for Europe's biggest clubs.

One man who may find himself in demand at the end of the season based on current form is Lyon's Fred. The improbably named Brazilian striker has endured a difficult season after breaking his foot at the Copa America last summer and then finding himself relegated to the bench and mostly unused as a third choice striker behind 20-year-old rising star Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou.

But the 24-year-old has made the most of his return to favor with coach Alain Perrin since saving the French champions from embarrassment by scoring the only goal of the game in a French Cup win over fourth division Croix-de-Savoie in early February.

Six goals in five league starts since then, including two in a 4-2 win over Paris Saint Germain at the weekend, have helped put Lyon firmly back on track for their seventh title in a row as well as providing a timely reminder of his predatory talents for potentially interested parties.

Long unsettled at Lyon -- as long ago as August 2007 Fred was complaining that his relationship with the club president had deteriorated so much that he wanted to leave -- the temperamental goalscorer had been tipped to depart during the winter transfer window, only for the club to offload Czech striker Milan Baros to Portsmouth instead.

But with the club apparently determined to hang onto the highly-rated Benzema despite interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, the time may now be right for Fred to seek a fresh start after four mostly lackluster and tantrum-prone seasons at the Stade Gerland since arriving from Cruzeiro burdened perhaps unfairly with a "new Ronaldo" tag.

In January, Fred was linked with a move to PSG but with the Parisians still struggling for survival such a move at present would represent a backward step for a player seeking to consolidate his place in the Brazilian squad as South American World Cup qualifying gathers pace.

With that in mind, it had also been suggested Fred could be heading back to Brazil, only for Fred's agent to insist that the player intended to stay in Europe.

That makes one among a cluster of English and Spanish clubs his most likeliest destination. Tottenham have been strongly linked with the player, though their eventual interest may be determined by whether they are able to hang onto Dimitar Berbatov.

West Ham and Manchester City have also been mentioned, along with Real Betis and Sevilla in Spain, though an estimated $18 million price tag may make England the likelier destination.

A few more goals before the end of the season though and Fred could yet be hot property in the summer transfer dealings. E-mail to a friend