Lyon coach Peter Bosz admits Spurs and Liverpool target Houssem Aouar could leave this month but the midfielder is eyeing a move to Premier League rivals Arsenal instead, speaking to Maxifoot.
Is one of the longest transfer sagas in European football finally nearing an end? Is that a speck of light we see at the end of a winding tunnel?
With just three-and-a-half weeks remaining in the transfer window, Arsenal appear to be stepping up their interest in a player who has been linked with a move to north London since the final few months of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
The Sun reports talks between Arsenal and Aouar have been ongoing for a number of weeks.
Le10 Sport adds the Gunners have made a bid too, albeit one that falls substantially short of Lyon’s £25 million asking price as Tottenham Hotspur lurk in the background.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool can’t be discounted either, their pursuit of a Gini Wijnaldum successor still very much ongoing (Le10).
Will Arsenal finally win the race for Lyon’s Houssem Aouar?
“He can leave, that’s modern football,” said former Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund coach Bosz. “Until the last moment, he can leave.”
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Bosz did add, however, that he’s still counting on the silky France international ahead of their Ligue 1 opener against Brest on Saturday.
Aouar, meanwhile, has been named Lyon’s third-choice captain behind Moussa Dembele and new skipper Leo Dubois.
According to The Sun, Arsenal are willing to offer a man once labelled “incredible” by Pep Guardiola a £100,000-a-week pay packet at the Emirates.
And while Aouar’s development has stalled worryingly during the past 12 months or so, a £25 million price tag stands him in good stead as he pushes for a move to a club that finished just above Leeds United in the Premier League last season.
Aouar would certainly come a darn sight cheaper than James Maddison too.
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