Soccer-Yanga-Mbiwa hopes Lyon move will lead to France recall

PARIS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Former French international Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa is hoping his transfer to Olympique Lyonnais will help him regain a place in the national team. The defender signed a five-year contract last week after leaving AS Roma for an initial fee of eight million euros ($8.86 million) that could rise to 10 million with bonuses. "I want to have a great season with Lyon," Yanga-Mbiwa said on Monday. "The aim is to finish top and then, once that's done, why can't I claim a place in the France team?". "I'm very happy to be able to play at a club like OL. They're a great team," added the 26-year-old who last played for his country in 2012. Born in the Central African Republic, Yanga-Mbiwa won the Ligue 1 title in 2012 with Montpellier where he spent six seasons before moving on to Newcastle United in January 2013 and then AS Roma in June 2014. He played 28 Serie A matches and nine Champions League and Europa League games for Roma. "I made a lot of progress in Italy," said Yanga-Mbiwa. "Serie A is a much more tactical championship than Ligue 1 and I also improved my positioning a lot." ($1 = 0.9033 euros) (Reporting by Tim Collings, editing by Tony Jimenez)