Monaco tell Liverpool that Thomas Lemar is going nowhere so should they instead target unwanted PSG winger Lucas Moura?
Monaco’s Thomas Lemar celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match against Saint-Etienne.
Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim has ended any hopes Liverpool had of signing Thomas Lemar in the January transfer window.
Lemar was wanted by the Reds as a potential replacement for Barcelona target Philippe Coutinho, as reported by the Liverpool Echo, but according to Jardim the 22-year-old is going nowhere – this month, at least.
Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim reacts during the French League Cup round of 16 football match against Caen.
“Monaco are not in the habit of making big sales in the winter,” he said.
“It’s our strategy. The players understand and they know how it goes here.”
Coutinho is still expected to join Barca, with the Times reporting his current Premier League owners are ready to accept a £140m offer for the Brazilian.
Therefore, if the Merseysiders are keen to replace the 25-year-old immediately then should they perhaps consider fellow countryman Lucas Moura – who has been told by Paris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery that he can leave?
Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti leaves the pitch to be replaced by Lucas Moura.
“Some players who play less, maybe they can be protagonists of another team because they are good players and do not have the opportunity to play here, like Lucas Moura or Hatem Ben Arfa,” Emery told French publication L’Equipe.
Moura has been with PSG for four-and-a-half years, scoring 46 goals and providing 50 assists in 229 games in all competitions and winning 11 major trophies in the process.
Yet this season the winger has been scarcely used by Emery and has made just six first team appearances and looks to be on his way out of the Parc des Princes.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
