It’s a perfect fit
AS Monaco today confirmed that they have agreed a deal in principle with Atlético Madrid for the sale of Thomas Lemar.
The midfielder almost left the Ligue 1 club after they won the French title in 2016/17, but was persuaded to stay for another year after several other star players were sold, including Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva and Kylian Mbappé.
L’AS Monaco et l’@Atleti annoncent avoir trouvé un accord de principe pour le transfert de Thomas Lemar. Les deux clubs vont continuer à travailler dans les prochains jours afin de trouver un accord définitif. pic.twitter.com/rinKA51Nbs
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) June 12, 2018
Lemar has been linked with moves to Arsenal and Liverpool in the past. The Gunners came close to signing Lemar for around £80m last summer on deadline day before the deal fell through.
📝 Principio de acuerdo con el @AS_Monaco_ES para el traspaso de Thomas Lemar
👉 https://t.co/0eEHxQKJIV#AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/G72rjIu2Kv— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) June 12, 2018
Lemar will slot into Atlético’s midfield quadrant on the left hand side, filling the shoes of Belgium international Yannick Carrasco who departed in January for Dalian Yifang F.C in the Chinese Super League.
Lemar was included in Didier Deschamps’ final 23-man squad for the World Cup this summer, and could be in line to start on the left wing, depending on which formation the coach opts to use.
He only scored five goals in the season just gone by, although the year before he managed to bag 12, helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 title against the odds.
Atléti fans will be hoping that Diego Simeone will be able to squeeze the performances out of Lemar that we saw two years ago.
