Arsenal will reportedly have to pay £60m this summer if they wish to finally prise long-time target Alexandre Lacazette away from Lyon.
The Gunners have been heavily linked with the French striker for over 12 months now, with Lyon taking to Twitter last summer to publicly reject one of their bids as they deemed it well short of their valuation of the player.
Having failed to improve their offer and complete a deal last year, it appears as though Arsene Wenger will return for the prolific forward again and The Telegraph believe that it’s going to cost them. It’s claimed that Lacazette will fetch an initial fee of £48.7m, but with £10.6m in add-ons taking the total figure to around £60m.
The 26-year-old has been a consistent menace for Ligue 1 defences as he has bagged 20+ league goals in each of the last three seasons, with last year seeing his best return yet as he scored 28 goals in 30 Ligue 1 appearances.
In total, it was also his most prolific season across the board as he made it 37 in 45, and with Lyon struggling to really make an impact at the top, it will surely feel like the right time for him to move on to a new challenge as he enters the peak years of his career.
With other targets potentially out of their reach, and given what Wenger really needs to add to his side this summer, Lacazette undoubtedly ticks all the right boxes.
Now though, it will be a case of Arsenal finally meeting Lyon’s demands and wrapping the deal up, as they may not get a better chance to do so with Atletico Madrid also linked with a swoop for the striker, but they will be unable to make their move this summer after their transfer ban was upheld.