Lyon’s president has revealed Alexandre Lacazette is no longer to leave the club, as the deal with Atletico Madrid fell through.
One month ago Lacazette seemed set to leave Lyon. The striker had enjoyed a very good season at the French side managing to score 37 times in 45 appearances. His performances also earned him a place among France’s national squad.
There were plenty of rumored offers for the striker, but it seemed that a deal had been agreed with La Liga side Atletico Madrid. However, in the meantime, Atletico was hit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s transfer ban, that will restrict transfers to the club until January.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas now says that there are no other offers for Lacazette and that he is part of the team’s plans for next season. “Alexandre could leave the club but things went wrong with Atletico. For us, he is with Lyon. Today, I haven’t got any other offers for Alexandre Lacazette. I don’t know if he wants to leave.”
It remains to be seen if some of the other clubs who have been scouting the player will submit an offer to Lyon now that Atletico is out of the picture. Arsenal is chief among the teams said to be interested in the player with Arsene Wenger anxious to improve his squad for next season. (Also, there’s the matter of a famous history of French players signing with the club). Manchester United and Dortmund are also said to be scouting the 26-year-old striker.
If Lacazette is to leave Lyon before the start of the new season, the French side will be ready to fill the vacancy. Aulas revealed that the club is in negotiations with Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore. The player was loaned out last season to Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam and was part of the team that reached the Europa League final. “We want to bring in Bertrand Traore. There are advanced talks but many clubs are interested in him,” Aulas confirms.
