Arsenal turn their attention to Lyon striker after Jovetic deal stalls.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may be weighing up a backup plan for his problems upfront, after talks to sign Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina stalled.
The Gunners could turn their attention to Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis, as they have failed to agree on a fee with Serie A side Fiorentina, who now want close to £25million for their star player Jovetic as opposed to their earlier asking price of £15million.
Arsenal had looked favourites to sign the Montenegro forward over the last few months, though Italian champions Juventus may now step up their interest in the talented 23-year-old despite Fiorentina hoping not to sell to a Serie A rival.
Wenger is still keen to add some firepower upfront, though, and has long been a fan of Gomis ever since he made a name for himself at St Etienne in 2007.
The French striker has gone on to play for Lyon, whom he joined for £11million in 2009, and occasionally features in the national side for France. With 20 goals this season, he has been identified as a good option for Arsenal.
Wenger is known for looking to his native France to sign players, and was relatively successful with his signing of Olivier Giroud from Montpellier last summer, as the 26-year-old scored 17 goals and contributed 11 assists in an impressive debut season with the Gunners.
However, the Arsenal manager is short of depth upfront, and would like an alternative to Giroud and more goal-scoring options following last year’s sale of star striker Robin van Persie to Manchester United.
The likes of Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain and Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke have also been linked with moves to the Emirates Stadium this summer, though both appear to be somewhat out of Arsenal’s price range, with both valued at around £25million and attracting interest from a number of top European clubs.
Gomis, however, could move for closer to £15million, and Arsenal may even get the price further down by using backup forward Gervinho as part of the deal, after it has emerged that Lyon would be interested in signing the Ivorian, who has largely been a flop at Arsenal since joining from Lille in 2011.
Lyon attacking midfielder Clement Grenier has also been linked with a move to the Gunners, though Wenger is keen to make a striker a priority, as he is content with his current options in the middle of the park.
Only three players have scored more goals than Gomis in Ligue 1 this season, and the 27-year-old’s playing style has been compared to that of Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.