Arsenal and Lyon are moving increasingly close to an agreement that will make Alexandre Lacazette the Gunners’ record signing.
Talks between the two clubs are ongoing but Lyon have become more open to compromising on their asking price of £57million for the 26-year-old striker.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had been attempting to leverage interest from Atletico Madrid to drive up any fee for Lacazette.
However it is now increasingly likely that Lacazette will leave this summer rather than wait until Atletico’s transfer ban, which prevents them from registering new players for the next six months, has been completed.
Aulas conceded as much earlier this week when he admitted that Lyon had already begun to consider who might replace Lacazette. Chief among the contenders is Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, who would fit the criteria Lyon have for any new striker.
“The case would obviously be the arrival of a player capable of scoring 25 to 30 goals per year,” Aulas told AFP. “It will be a French international or a player of a very large European club.”
Arsenal transfer targets for summer 2017
Lyon have also completed the signing of Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz though it remains unclear whether that will see them cool their interest in Giroud.
Arsenal are open to allowing Giroud to leave if they can find a replacement though Lyon could face competition from West Ham.
The Gunners have also been tracking Monaco star Kylian Mbappe – for whom they saw an informal £87million bid rejected – but Lacazette appeared a more realistic venture and Arsenal have increasingly focused their attention on moves for him and Thomas Lemar in recent days.
Any deal for Lacazette is likely to eclipse Arsenal’s club record £42.5million deal for Mesut Ozil in September 2013 and would provide Arsene Wenger with the marquee striker he has been searching for since the departure of Robin van Persie in 2012.
