Arsenal have bids for Thomas Lemar and Alexandre Lacazette rejected so may turn attention to Riyad Mahrez
Jeremy Wilson, deputy football correspondent John Percy
28 JUNE 2017 • 10:30PM
Arsenal have had a bid in excess of £30 million turned down for Monaco winger Thomas Lemar and are now considering whether to formalise their interest in Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez.
Arsène Wenger’s transfer priorities have been the French trio of Kylian Mbappé, Alexandre Lacazette and Lemar, with Arsenal hoping to sign two new forwards ahead of Alexis Sánchez’s likely departure.
Talks have been progressing with Lyon over Lacazette - although at least one bid has been rejected - but Monaco have offered little encouragement over Mbappe and Lemar, with Arsenal now having taking fresh soundings on Mahrez’s availability.
Although Arsenal still have a distant hope of Sanchez agreeing a new contract and would prefer that he moves abroad should their contract stalemate continue, Manchester City are in an increasingly strong position to sign the striker.
This is partly because Arsenal have other players in the final year of their contracts and so would be taking an especially big gamble by allowing Sánchez to potentially leave for nothing next year and also because Bayern Munich would be reluctant to pay the Chile forward what City might offer.
Monaco have also already sold Bernardo Silva to Manchester City and midfielder Tiemoué Bakayoko is on the verge of joining Chelsea for around £40 million. Those deals are also expected to harden Monaco's desire to keep Lemar.
Lacazette would cost Arsenal a club record £49 million, plus add-ons, with Wenger hoping to sell an immediate move to the Premier League rather than have him wait for Atletico Madrid, who are under a transfer embargo until next January. Monaco would want a world record fee in excess of £100 million for Mbappe.
Incoming deals at Arsenal will also be influenced by the situations of Sanchez and Ozil. While Bayern Munich and Manchester City are competing for Sanchez, Ozil does not have so many high-profile options and could yet opt to see out his contract at Arsenal. He wants a major pay-rise but it is understood that Arsenal are not prepared to go beyond around £280,000-a-week.
They are also locked in a stand-off with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is out of contract next year and yet to agree a new deal amid interest from Liverpool.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/06/28/arsenal-make-bids-totalling-85m-thomas-lemarand-alexandre-lacazette/