Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas says Arsenal will have to stump up a deal worth €65 million if they are to sign Alexandre Lacazette this summer.
The France international had a move to Atletico Madrid sanctioned earlier in the summer only for the deal to collapse when the Spanish side had a transfer ban imposed on them until January 2018.
Having failed in an audacious bid to snap up Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe it appears that Lacazette, 26, is the next on Arsene Wenger’s shopping list. Aulas maintains he’ll make the Gunners work hard for his star man having already hinted he could move for Olivier Giroud as part of negotiations.
“I don’t have the intention to sell Alexandre quickly because there is still the will of Atletico Madrid to return on January 1. Now, I will listen also to what Alexandre says,” Aulas told L’Equipe.
“I saw Arsene during the France-England game (on June 13). I was with Gerard Houllier and I seemed to understand that he said to Gerard that there could be interest from Arsenal.
“But it is premature to say that things will happen. We need to get in a big transfer first. We cannot let a player of this quality leave without a replacement.
“Everyone knows that Atletico’s offer was €53million plus €12m in bonuses. That makes €65million (£57m). As the Arsenal directors well know, it will be in that range.
“It will have to be at least that. The price for a player who scores 25-30 goals every year – sometimes more than 30 – is at least that.
“But frankly, I haven’t yet thought about Arsenal for now because I thought that Alexandre was going to stay because the deal with Atletico fell through.”
Seems reasonable to pick up the terms that athletico agreed. Funny hearing how these transfers get done. My mate Arsene likes the look of your player. I still feel underwhelmed by the deal but if he is the best that we can realistically get then so be it.
Aulas is boring me. Tell it to the Arsenal board then!
Stupid media whore. Hey
Let’s go for another player.
Who would that be exactly? Sorry but we’re in no position right now to just take our business elsewhere once the chairman starts being a bit difficult. Mbappe’s seems like a pipe dream and Martial would turn into a massive saga that could well not pay off. Lacazette looks perfect for our style of football (great link up play, more mobile than Giroud and more clinical than Welbeck) and he’s our most realistic chance right now. Even if it means paying a bit more than we’d like, let’s just get this done and then focus on bringing in a midfielder… Read more »
AUBAMEYANG maybe?
I’m not sure where this rhetoric that aubamenyang is definitely a better player than lacazette comes from. Agreed, I probably don’t watch them week in and week out, but when I have seen them in European games and from their league highlights. I don’t see this vast gulf in talent. 75% of the goals aubamenyang scored were tap ins from close range. I’ve seen lacazette hit more precise finishes. It’s a valid argument that maybe aubamenyang is less of a gamble because he plays in a top league. I would agree with that but I don’t see that he’s locked… Read more »
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Aubameyang said he didn’t want to play in the premier league.
Not sure if paying best part of €45m only to replace Giroud with Lacazette would be a good decision. How many more goals a season would Lacazette have to score to make that worth while?
Agreed, they are willing to sell us a great striker who has been banging them in.
Can we be a bit more decisive for a change offer the going rate and get the player in for preseason rather than dithering all summer losing/drawing a few games before doing our business when Real Madrid/Barcelona decide everyone can move.
Arsene didn’t want to sell Debuchy to Van Gaal’s Man U. He will understand if Man U refuse to listen to us.
If not a new fwd why not another high profile playmaker. For £60m we can always take James Rodriguez from Madrid. Push Alexis up front & let Ozil & James play behind him.
Can anyone tell me why Lacazette is behind Giroud in France’s pecking order?
Because he isn’t a target man
Fucking hell does this cunt ever shut up? He should hire harry redknapp as manager then they can play out their entire business strategy live on TV
Now we know why Arsenal have been reluctant to buy players from Lyon
in recent years.
No one knows who the Lyon Manager is but everyone knows who this tool is…he’s never off the TV in France…he used to wear a handle bar moustache that made him look AND sound even more ridiculous …
Hélas! Las de lassant Aulas et ses tralalas !
I prefer these cunt talking, so I can judge whether it was Arsenal who failed to get the transfer done, or cunts like this who are just cunts to deal with.
I miss Harry too…..funnier than Ricky f.. Gervais…;-)
I admire him. He’s talked so much in the past week that you’d never know Lacazette just has 2 years on his contract and has made multiple requests to leave. You’d also miss that we’re the only club other than Atleti to make serious offers. I agree that his tactics are why we and others haven’t been able to peel off Lyon’s best players (not because they’re not good players). This is how a executive should be. He goes into every negotiation with the express intention of getting a premium or keeping the player. And he’s savvy enough to sign… Read more »
He’s the main reason everyone hates Lyon, the club, in France.
@ I seemed to understand that he said to Gerard that there could be interest from Arsenal. Apparently, Wenger’s relationship with Aulas is still strained from last summer. No doubt, Aulas isnt the discrete type. No way he is going to get along with Wenger on transfers. I foresee a very tense engagement. Shouldnt deter us though.
If the price gets ramped up then tell them to fuck off.
The market price is what the buyers are prepared to pay now, not what a previous club had offered.
There was a 65 million euro agreement with Athletico so using your one dimensional model of transfers (what buyers are willing to pay) that is the market price.
Athletico are no longer a buyer as they are banned from transfers until 2018. We are the only club making an offer, they can reject it and take the risk of not receiving a better one this summer.
That’s a a dangerous model, because that could easily apply to us and our players, particularly if clubs come with an underhanded offer for Sanchez.
If there is more that one club bidding then price should be reasonable because they are competing against each other. If it’s one club only – they make an offer and its either accept or reject.
The biggest bullshit is Wenger saying he will keep Ozil and Sanchez for the last year of their contracts (if though don’t sign new ones). We all know Stan wont allow £50m assets to leave for free in 12 months time. The only reason he bought Arsenal to make himself richer. The slimy cunt.
If we are realy chasing Lacazette I bet it is going to be a very long summer saga, knowing how we have done the transfer business in recent years. And we could ended up make him a deadline day signing.
Let’s hope this time will be different.
Why do we always pay top dollar when we buy players and sell our players for peanuts?
I’m sure we must have reputation for being shit negotiators, and other clubs take full advantage of that.
Because buying new quality players that are in demand costs more than selling players that are in less demand and that you may not want anymore. Obviously.
Another reason you haven’t mentioned, is that we allow too many players to run down their contracts so when selling, our position is weaker than a rent boy’s sphincter.
and when we don’t people complain just as much that we have so much ‘dead wood’ winding down long contracts.
FYI, the days when football clubs could coerce players to sign new contracts have long gone. Players have become much more powerful in that respect, as has been well documented.
Why do I see spuds tying down all their players on long terms contracts?
How many times did we see a photo of Pochettino with his arm round a player who had signed a new contract (at less wages than they could get elsewhere)?
If they can do it, why cant we?
I really enjoyed it when Pochettino lifted the FA Cup too.
Would rather spend a bit less as test United’s resolve for Martial and then use he rest to get Mahrez. I just think we can spend our money more shrewdly. But I think our scouting just isn’t up to par, either that or Wenger dithers too much, because almost all of the players we’re linked to, we could’ve got before (except Mbappe. It seem So wenger did all that he could to convince him). Honestly, we should’ve just gone for the likes of Draxler or even Gabriel Jesus when we had the chance. I wonder who the next Neymar is?… Read more »
Gabriel Barbosa, plays for Inter Milan, isn’t half the player Jesus is and Jesus hasn’t proved himself yet…
Sabrosa?
Gabriel barbosa. He’s at Inter. Martial isn’t happening, and if it did it would be even more difficult, and likely almost as much money, as this. And we still have the money to get Mahrez even if we get lacazette.
I agree we should have moved for Draxler ages ago. In another year he’ll probably be worth upwards of 100m, when we could have gotten him for about 35m like two years ago.
I think Wolfsburg signed him for £24m 🙁
His injury record is horrible. If we would have bought him for big money and he would have been injured during his first season, guys like you would have said “why have we bought another injury prone player?” Hindsight is a good thing, isn’t it?
Don’t want Draxler. Flat track bully kind of player, doesn’t have the right beans to play for us.
We’ve dealt with Mou before. And if it is like last time, he’ll stall till the last moment and reject when there is no time for plan B. We learned that lesson already.
Gabriel Barbosa aka Gabigoal, spent last season warming the bench at Inter Milan.
Perfect.
We have a good record of buying wide playing bench warmers for Italian clubs and turning them into WC strikers.
Hes not a wide player, but a striker.
I’d really love to see us make a move for Moratta from Real! I’m not sure how this lacazatte guy will do against quality opposition after seeing him play against us! He is behind OG in pecking order for country, whereas Morata is younger than him and holds more promise! Better if we can get Assensio and Isco for 150M but wait….let me wake up…
I know people who take pictures of their dinner and put it on fb that have more tact and privacy than this tool. Since when was all this necessary public information? I’d tell him to shut up or we’ll look elsewhere. Lyon yer bike mate!
Being pedantic… shouldn’t you be Mijn Bergkampf ? 🙂
Maijin Buukamp?
Might have to change my username to that.
the chinese copy everything
He could do that, but then he’ll negate the whole ‘mein kampf’ pun he is trying to achieve.
Mein Kampf…
Aulas might be the most tedious guy in the business
If he doesn’t get to 25 goals, will there be a refund of some of the fee, seeing as he is so confident these are the numbers Lacazette is supposedly capable of.
Hahahahaa……
…No!
Concise. I concur.
Signing Lacazette would be like a the time I order this really fit 18yr old escort Online but when she arrived at my door she looked at least 26 and no better than my current GF, maybe even a slight downgrade. I still invited her in and took her down, my gf found out and moved in with some guy down the road, I think his name was West Ham. Now I’m going out with that 26yr old escort, I’m convinced she wants to leave me for some guy in Spain called Atletico Madrid, even though I’ve somehow lost £25mill… Read more »
Seems like this aulas guy is enjoying the spotlight meant for lacazette. Talks a lot!
Rumours of a swap deal Sanchez & Aguero. If we could get 10mil added & rid ourselves of Theo & keep the HFB. Perhaps we could bring in Mahrez & Carrasco. Aguero is a year older & seems a little injury prone to me but he’s comfortably better than Lacazette
Swap of Sanchez and Aguero is the most preposterous unlikely thing ihave ever heard. Will never happen.
Also If you think Mourinho/Utd will sell us a decent player rather than drag it out all summer and then take it off the table at the last minute you are deluded.
Just repeating what’s been reported. Also I assume you’re thinking of Martial instead of Mahrez. Not saying Aguero will happen. Just that if it did we’d be freed up to adress the wide positions
Why is that preposterous? Guardiola clearly rates Sanchez, and Aguero is clearly not as happy under him.
This newspaper “story” is complete fiction, and a measure of how desperate the papers are to fill what would otherwise be blank space in their sports pages.
Sanchez is in control. He can just demand high weekly wages until he gets ManCity who will pay them. We are left without many choices on what to do with him. Aguero was often referred to as the best forward in EPL over the last 3 years. If we had gotten him earlier it would have been seen as a major coup. He scored 30 last year with more limited playing time and he tried to adapt to Pep and his demands. To me the biggest downside is his age but he offers quite a bit if we can get… Read more »
Aguero would be an AMAZING forward for us, or anyone. After the guys who have led the line for us the last few years (no disrespect to Giroud, Theo, etc), it would be like going from McDonalds to caviar (insert your favorite posh-sounding food here). But the biggest downside, much bigger than his age per se, is his injury record: as City found out several seasons in a row, it’s no good having a striker who can score 10-12 goals in two months, if he’s then out injured for the next three, while your title challenge founders. And I don’t… Read more »
Aguero is comfortably better than almost every player on the planet. He’s the equal of Alexis, even if a different sort of player, obviously (more comfortably CF, less able to play the creator role). But he’s injury prone, as you say (City may have won the title a few more times if he hadn’t kept getting injured), he’s also older than Alexis, and because he doesn’t offer the same sort of versatility (pretty much can only play as a central striker, with or without a partner), he constrains who else we’d have to buy in the market. But the biggest… Read more »
Aul-ass
Now you’re just being a dick monsieur Aulas.
This fella likes the sound of his own business doesn’t he? Likes to get his name in the papers in the summertime when the weather is hot, you can stretch right up and touch the sky. When the weather’s fine, you got transfers, you got transfers on your mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine. But all this talk of transfers is a grind.
FFS with such a cunt president, Lacazette better start a shit storm if he really wants to come to us. He isn’t even our first choice.
I get that Lyon is trying to push up the price now that Athletico is out (looks like they are going for Costa and aren’t a real suitor anymore). That said we dither every summer and are never prepared for the start of the season which this year cost us the Champions League. To have any shot at convincing other players to come (Ozil & Sanchez to stay) we need to get business done early. If it costs a few million gbp more so be it. Dithering last year cost us almost 50m in the end as that loss to… Read more »
Is he the most annoying club president ever?
Well there’s always silent Stan.
If Lacazette comes then it’ll just be a case of an average player joining an average club. And with Sanchez certain to go then we’ll be much weaker up front than last season.
How can a player who is behind Giroud in the pecking order for the French national side make us a better team?
Yay. Fatty’s back.
The French pecking order argument really is dumb. The French effectively play a 4-4-2 and Greizman is their number one striker. It doesn’t really work to have to 2 small strikers so when you play a 4-4-2 you tend to play a target man (Ginac or Giroud) and a fast poacher type (Greizman or Lacazette). As long as France plays a 4-4-2 Lacazette is really competing with Greizman not Giroud for a place in the side. You have to consider the system a team plays. Adding Lacazette would make us a faster more dynamic team – he’s Welbeck but can… Read more »
Enough of your rational arguments!!
And what has that team won with Giroud. Don’t judge a player until proven. Fatgooner is that u?
Hello Fats, where have you been hiding?
Ahhh, Fatso’s back.
Chin’s up Fatgooner
I legitimately don’t know what I want anymore
https://youtu.be/H6tGMeK7JTY
Is he Trezeguet in disguise? Wenger always tried to get that guy. He had cool white boots in Pro Evo too.
“Having failed in an audacious bid to snap up Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe” – has anyone heard that the bid was actually rejected? Or even lodged in the first place?
That news has not been confirmed by either club so could be true or could be bollocks.
If we are going to spend this amount of money (and lose Giroud), we’d be much better off going for Aubameyang. I think losing Giroud and gaining Lacazette means we are giving up too much power/size.
Meanwhile Monsieur Wenger, who has no intention of bidding for Lacazette, rolls his eyes.
for fuck sake Arsene, why didn’t you just invite that guy to play charades at your last summer dinner party 3 years ago. Now look whats happening!
Is there anything in this report about a Aguero – Sanchez swap? City getting the better player in that deal no doubt but we know that he is angling to leave – Sergio is a pretty bloody good compensation. Allows us to the then to save money in the transfer kitty for a good prospect to replace Alexis
Son of Higuain?
Higuainagain?
Higuain part 2: The Higuaining?
I find it difficult to believe the money on offer from Atletico is really that high.
Any chance that we are been lied to
Can’t he just sh*t up and accept our bid for the love of god?
Can we buy mahraz but still keep Sanchez for the final year of his contract and not letting him anywhere near the first team frustrating him and his country for the world Cup then let him go for free, as a lesson for the other players (contract rebels). Something close to what man city did to Tevez whom we know it took years to get back to his best after that. This contract rebel thing is becoming too much. Sanchez is a good player yes but we played a big part in making him that, before we bought him from… Read more »
Keep him 100% – No matter what.
Wake me up when there’s some actual news instead of this Muppet spouting crap
“But frankly, I haven’t yet thought about Arsenal…”
Everybody lies! Knock 5m off the price for that.
So we have defiantly failed with mbappe then ?
Anything could happen. Who can say.
Please keep him at Lyon, Mr Aulas!!!!