Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette has confirmed his intention to leave Lyon this summer
According to the Daily Mail, Lacazette was speaking to French channel Canal+ and admitted that the time had come for him to leave Lyon. Lacazette has been in brilliant form this season and feels he is now ready to step up to a bigger challenge, while admitting he dreams of playing for Barcelona.
“I think it’s come, the right moment,” he told Canal+, according to the Daily Mail. “I think that this summer will be the time where I will need a change of scenery and discover something else, still with the idea of advancing and progressing in terms of football and as a person. I am going to continue to work, in the hope that good opportunities will come this summer.”
“Barcelona to join Umtiti?” he responded when asked about joining his compatriot. “It is a very big club. They have extraterrestrials up front. It would be a dream. If that happens, great, but I am not here to say that I will take a place from Luis Suarez. But I would like to play for them one day.”
The Frenchman has only added to his already burgeoning reputation this season with 18 goals and 1 assist in just 17 games in Ligue 1. Despite his brilliant form, Lyon are far behind the top 3 and are locked in a battle with Saint-Etienne for fourth place.
It is understandable, then, that Lacazette is seeking a new challenge as he is clearly a very talented player that seems destined for the top. He will have no shortage of suitors now that he has declared his intention to leave, and if last summer’s example is anything to go by, there will be a tug of war over the Frenchman’s signature.
Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti confirmed last month that his compatriot was waiting for the right time to leave Lyon and it appears that time has now come. Despite Lacazette’s desire to joint he Catalans, it seems highly unlikely they will sign him given the wealth of talent they have up front.
Summer signing Paco Alcacer has himself been restricted to just 3 starts in La Liga and it seems quite unlikely that Lacazette will be able to displace Neymar or Luis Suarez, something the Frenchman himself has admitted.
Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for Lacazette in the summer, but their advances for Lacazette were rejected outright by Lyon. The French side confirmed that they had rejected a bid of £30m from the Gunners, who went on to sign Lucas Perez instead.
It was also reported that Lacazette was in talks over a new contract with the French side, but the Frenchman has not signed an extension yet. As it stands, Lacazette will only have two years left to run on his contract come the end of the season.
Arsenal could well renew their interest in the Frenchman as they need options up front. Olivier Giroud has been used as a substitute more often this season and Alexis Sanchez’s future with the Gunners is far from certain.
The news that Lacazette himself is now ready to move will no doubt pique Arsenal’s interest and we could finally see the Frenchman make the move to London this summer.
