Arsenal, Leeds United and Newcastle United have reportedly missed out on Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico, with the Argentine set to sign for Lyon in the coming days.
According to L’Equipe, the French giants have agreed a deal with the Eredivise champions to sign Tagliafico, who has been linked with multiple clubs over the past 12 months after falling out of favour at Ajax under now-Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag.
As per the report, Lyon could sign Tagliafico for as little as €4m (£3.4m), with the South American left-back last summer reportedly valued as high as £40m as the likes of Arsenal, Leicester City and Leeds chased the 29-year-old Ajax star, as well as Newcastle in more recent weeks.
Indeed, the dramatic decrease in value is perhaps no real surprise. Tagliafico made just nine league starts last season as Ajax cruised to the Dutch title, with the Argentine playing most of his football from the bench or in cup competitions, as well as a handful of appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
And now, Tagliafico is set to leave Ajax for good, with Lyon close to signing the Argentine international in a deal that will be seen as a coup for many top sides given how much the defender was reportedly worth last year, much to the dismay of Arsenal, Leeds and Newcastle.
The Premier League trio are all looking to sign left-backs this summer, and with Tagliafico worth just over £3m this summer, the 29-year-old could have been perfect for either English side, especially when you factor in just how good the defender has been in recent years.
Lyon have signed one of the bargains of the summer in Tagliafico
Dropping from £40m to £3m is one heck of a value drop the likes that have only been seen in football in very rare cases, such as Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea or even Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal, yet for Lyon, they have arguably secured one of the signings of the summer in Tagliafico.
After all, the Argentine international has been one of Ajax’s best players in recent years, and aside from a poor last season where the defender was frozen out of the squad, Tagliafico is still one of the best players in Europe in his position and could prove to be a miracle signing for Lyon.
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