Arsenal are preparing a new and improved offer for Alexandre Lacazette according to a report in L’Equipe on Wednesday.
The bid would be in excess of €40million, although it is thought that Lyon will only even consider doing business if the bid is closer to €50million. Publicly the club say they do not want to sell and dub him as ‘irreplaceable’. Paris-Saint Germain have already baulked at the €50million+ asking price.
We told you on Tuesday that Lyon had rejected a £29million (€35million) offer from Arsenal for Lacazette – in fact they confirmed in on their official Twitter account. It was an interesting move from the French club, Arsene Wenger has responded by saying Lyon can do what they want but Arsenal will keep their dealings ‘secret’.
The news is summarised in this tweet by the L’Equipe journalist who claims to have the information.
Info @lequipe : malgré le refus de l’OL, Arsenal va persister pour A. Lacazette. Une nouvelle offre d’environ 40 M€ devrait être formulée
— Bilel Ghazi (@BilelGhazi) July 26, 2016
There is no mention of when that bid was made but The Telegraph believe it was towards the early end of summer, possibly a rebound offer after getting rejected by Jamie Vardy.
That’s what is most interesting in this deal, and the lull period that has been July could be enough for Lyon to raise interest again and tempt Wenger into offering more money – and L’Equipe believe it has worked. Arsenal now appear keen to do business for the 25-year-old who has scored consistently for the last three seasons at Lyon. He netted 21 times for Lyon last season, finishing in blistering form.
What is interesting is Lyon were thought to be willing to accept just £25million for Lacazette in January, but the player himself snubbed a move. Pre-January he was failing to score regularly and Lyon looked ready to cash in, now they are certainly looking to capitalise on that form by increasing his asking price by more than 50%.
Time will tell but it seems as if Lacazette is the most likely striker to arrive right now. That’s my view anyway, what do you think? Share your thoughts below.