It now seems safe to say Alexandre Lacazette will be at one of two clubs at the end of the transfer window, Lyon or Arsenal.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has confirmed his club are no longer in for the French striker, having all-but sealed a loan deal for Argentina Olympic forward Jonathan Calleri.
SB: "100 per cent we will not go for Lacazette. We will sign Calleri and he will be with us pretty soon depending on the work permit.
— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 11, 2016
Arsenal have already seen one bid for Lacazette rejected, with Lyon valuing the player at more than the £29.3m offered by Wenger’s team.
The club would seem to have bigger priorities right now, with a defensive injury crisis reportedly reigniting their interest in Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi.
But with rivals spending big this summer, fans have begun asking questions as to why they can’t bring in both players.
If Arsenal pull off Mustafi, Mahrez and Lacazette I'll be reasonably happy with Wenger
— JJ (@jd_mpd) August 11, 2016
So apparently we've signed Mustafi. Wenger bring in Mahrez and Lacazette and then I'll be content. Stop being a tight ass
— Señor Myles (@ThereGoesMyles) August 11, 2016
Mustafi, Lacazette, Mahrez in that order please Wenger. @Arsenal
— Byron (@Byron_Lo_pez) August 11, 2016
Lacazette was unlucky not to make the French squad for Euro 2016 after scoring 23 goals for his club last season, but Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas is playing hardball after already losing prized defender Samuel Umtiti to Barcelona.
As has been the case for a while, Arsenal seem well-stocked in midfield but lacking elsewhere, with one of Calum Chambers and Rob Holding potentially in line for an opening-day start at centre-back and Olivier Giroud facing minimal competition for his place in attack.
Still, perhaps Wenger is holding off on a new bid to save us from stuff like this.
The main reason I want Lacazette is so whenever Xhaka assists him we can say BoomXhakaLaca
— © (@afccollin) August 1, 2016
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