It looks like Arsenal have settled on French international Alexandre Lacazette as their replacement for wantaway striker Alexis Sanchez after Lacazette’s club Lyon acknowledged that they had received a “very nice” bid from the Premier League side.
Arsenal are reported to have made an offer that gets close to the £50m valuation that Lyon have put on the at 26-year-old.
Lacazette, who has scored 91 goals in the last three seasons, is a very similar player to Sanchez in that he is comfortable playing across tall he attacking positions.
Now the challenge for Arsene Wenger is to convince his countryman to play in the Europe League next season instead of waiting until January to join Atletico Madrid.
Lacazette had been lined up as a replacement for Antoine Griezmann at Atleti this summer but, with their transfer ban now upheld until next January, that move cannot take place during this summer transfer window.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had fully expected Lacazette to leave but the situation at Madrid appears to have changed his thinking.
“Alexandre Lacazette was told he could leave,” Aulas said.
“We had negotiations with Atletico. Things did not work out.
“We now have a very nice offer from Arsenal.”
While Lacazette would appear to be a good replacement for the departing Sanchez, his arrival will not not make striker Olivier Giroud happy, as Giroud has suggested that he would not be content to be a squad player at Arsenal next season ahead of the 2018 World Cup, where France will be one of the favorites to lift the cup..
