Juventus striker Simone Zaza has been proposed to Arsenal as an alternate to Alexander Lacazette, should the Gunners fail to persuade Lyon into selling their prized asset. Zaza has offers from numerous club but none of them with Champions League football like Arsenal.
Italian source Tuttomercatoweb reports that an intermediary has proposed the name of Simone Zaza, who global fans would remember for his eccentric and inglorious penalty miss in the Euro Cup against Germany, which led to Antonio Conte’s Italy exiting the Euro Cup despite a brave showdown with Germany.
The Lacazette Situation
Arsenal’s pursuit for a striker this season is yet to be fulfilled. Arsene Wenger’s desperate attempts to sign a striker this season has all but come to a standstill with the Lyon chief ruling out a potential move. Failure to sign Jamie Vardy, Mauro Icardi and now Lacazette will definitely affect Arsenal’s season adversely.
While Lacazette himself has refused to rule out a potential move claiming – “If offers come in that one cannot refuse, I don’t want to refuse them,” he told French TV station Canal+, “If not, I am happy at Lyon” (via Express), Lyon rejected the £29 million bid that Arsenal put in for the 25-year-old who has scored in both the matches for Lyon this season.
When Asked by French television station BFM.TV whether Lacazette will remain in Lyon or not, Aulas replied: “Of course. Alexander is one of the senior players in the team. First, we intervened very, very early but that’s due to the fact that the economic situation of Olympique Lyonnais had dramatically improved”
Zaza – Between West Ham and Wolfsburg
Like the Gunners, fellow Londoners West Ham have also been looking for a striker all July and August. With Wolfsburg signing Mario Gomez from Fiorentina, Simone Zaza, who was earlier a necessity, is a luxury right now. While Wolfsburg remain interested, West Ham’s interest in the Italian is more concrete at the moment. Zaza is also considering a move to England as he would have to potentially struggle to find even a place on the bench with the amount of new attackers Juventus have purchased this season.
Moreover, Juventus continue to show interest in Cuadrado and Brazilian starlet Gabigol Barbosa, both of whom are a distinct possibility. With the collapse of the Lacazette deal, Arsenal will have to set their sights on a new target. The transfer deadline day is almost upon us and the season is underway and very few strikers remain in the market. Zaza would readily accept a move to a Champions League club and his Arsenal would certainly have no issues meeting Juventus’ asking price of €25 million.
