Houssem Aouar has confirmed that transfer talks are underway between Lyon and other clubs, according to reports in Canal+(via Express).
The 22-year-old played his 100th league game for the French club yesterday. He has become one of the first names on the team sheet for OL in the past few years and has already made more than 130 appearances, scoring 24 goals.
The report in Express states that the North London club have made a £32m bid which was rejected by Lyon. They are expected to return with another bid closer to the £54m that the French team are demanding. The midfielder is believed to have agreed personal terms with the Emirates club.
After the game against Lorient, Aouar was giving an interview to Canal+ where he was asked about his future. The French star claimed that he will not discuss on his future out of respect for the club but did mention talks are ongoing. He said:
“I will give you an interview after the match but I will not talk about my future
“There are contact with clubs, I don’t know yet. We’ll see what happens in the future.”
The Frenchman is also thought to be the priority for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta this summer. His creativity is one aspect that will lift the squad and being able to split the defense with his accurate and imaginative passing is another great facet of the midfielder’s game.
The Frenchman is the type of player who can act as a swift link between attack and defense. This has been a problem for the North Londoners against teams that like to defend deep.
The transfer window closes on the 5th of October so the Emirates side will have to get a move on. Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas is known to be a tough negotiator that will not let go of his players on the cheap and the Emirates hierarchy will be aware of this after negotiating the transfer of Lacazette a couple of years back.
It is a mouth-watering prospect to see a player of Aouar’s quality play at the Emirates. He is still young and looks to be on course to become one of the world’s finest midfielders in the near future. Fans will be excited to see the midfielder in Arsenal’s colors but with transfer deadline fast approaching, the club need to hurry up.
