Lyon president gives Arsenal hope of landing key target
Lyon presiden Jean-Michel Aulas has given Arsenal hope of pulling off a deal for reported key target Houssem Aouar by claiming the French club could “lose two players” before the transfer deadline.
Mikel Arteta is a big admirer of the talented midfielder, who impressed in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League last season.
However, Arsenal have yet to make a bid that has been acceptable to Lyon with their latest offer coming in at around £36.5m.
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ESPN claimed on Wednesday that the Ligue 1 club have until now been demanding £55million for the midfielder, but are now said to be willing to accept £41million with potential add-ons.
Aouar, Memphis Depay and Jeff Reine-Adelaide have all recently been linked with transfers away from Lyon and now president Aulas claims as many as two players could leave before Friday evening.
On departures, Aulas said (via The Metro): “From Friday evening, when Rudi [Garcia] will choose his squad vs Marseille, there will be no departures. We could see ourselves lose two players.”
It’s not only Arsenal who are keen on Aouar, with Aulas claiming three clubs are in for the France under-21 international, he added: “We know that three big clubs are interested in him, two in the short-term, 1 in the long-term. Not much has happened. All the clubs can’t give us financially what Lyon wants.”