Arsenal and Tottenham target Thomas Lemar is available… at a price.
Monaco cashed in on several of the stars who helped the club reach the Champions League semi-finals last season, but Lemar stated put.
Several Premier League sides were interested in Lemar, with The Telegraph reporting Tottenham Hotspur were one of them.
But late activity from Arsenal on deadline day is likely to have killed off their hopes.
Arsenal stepped up their pursuit of Lemar amid fears Alexis Sanchez would force a move to Manchester City.
They left it too late to pull off a deal, but their £92 million offer was accepted.
It was a staggering fee, and another example of the market being inflated since Neymar’s move from Barcelona to PSG.
Monaco are now unlikely to sell for anything less than the fee Arsenal offered – and this wipes Tottenham off the list of possible contenders.
£92 million is too steep for Spurs to consider paying, especially when funds are being concentrated towards paying for their brand new stadium.
It was a last minute panic from Arsenal, but they have made everybody’s chances of signing Lemar a lot harder thanks to their failed deadline day swoop – although ending Tottenham’s hopes is one positive they can take from it.
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