French giants AS Monaco have tabled a lucrative €9 million bid to sign Ghana defender Jerry Akaminko from Turkish side Eskisehirspor, GHANAsoccernet.com can authoritatively confirm.

Akaminko, 25, has been the most outstanding defender in the French top-flight over the last two seasons and has attracted interest from domestic giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.

But AS Monaco have taken the lead to sign the Black Stars center-back who can also play on the right side of defence and also as a holding midfielder.

Monaco want to fortify their defence before the resumption of the Ligue 1 to add more bite to their title chase, and manager Claudio Ranieri has identified the former Ghana U23 defender as his ideal candidate.

According to reports in Turkey, Monaco have already made a bid for Akaminko with Eskiehirspor agreeing to allow the defender join a foreign club rather than selling him to a domestic opposition.

It is widely expected that the deal will be tied up next week to allow the towering defender who played a crucial role in Ghana’s World Cup qualifying campaign to move to France.