This summer’s transfer window is getting crazier as deadline day approaches closer. Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale, and have been provided with further good news regarding a previous midfield target, Houssem Aouar. According to reports, Olympique Lyon are ready to accept a much lower fee for Houssem Aouar.
It’s not a hidden fact that the North London club admire the Frenchman. They tried their best to sign Aouar last season but their bid of £35m was rejected by Lyon who valued him at £55m. Even the player himself did not want to join as he was looking to play in the Champions League.
Last month, there were reports of Lyon heavily lowering the price for Aouar to just £25m. This sure did interest the Gunners to again pursue their long time target. However, according to fresh reports from RMC Sport (via Metro), the French club could further lower their asking price for the player. They are now desperate to sell the French midfielder before the transfer window closes.
The report states that Juninho, Lyon’s sporting director, is angry with the ‘attitude’ in the dressing room. The Peter Bosz managed club are winless in their first two league matches this season, including a 3-0 drubbing against the Angers. The match saw an own goal by Marcelo and a red card for Maxwel Cornet.
To straighten things out at the club, Juninho has put several first-team players on the market which includes Aouar, Marcelo, Maxwel Cornet, Thiago Mendes, Islam Slimani and Rayan Cherki. Marcelo has already been demoted to the reserves, while Rayan Cherki, who was linked to United last year, is touted as one of the gems from their academy.
Arsenal handed last-minute opportunity as Houssem Aouar placed on transfer listhttps://t.co/dDeP0jwbZd pic.twitter.com/InoHOtk3Pg
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) August 18, 2021
Meanwhile, Arsenal completed their fourth signing in Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid last week, the final fee is believed to be around £30m plus bonuses. The Norwegian attacking midfielder spent the second half of last season with the Gunners and made quite an impression on Mikel Arteta.
Arteta was adamant to have the player for this season, and Edu delivered on it. Real Madrid were initially sceptical of selling him as they had no replacement but later agreed as the player himself wanted the move. The Los Blancos have included a ‘Right of first refusal’ in his contract.
Arsenal on Friday also announced the signing of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United. Initially, a couple of their bids were rejected by the Championship club with the Gunners also pulling out of the negotiations because of differences over the transfer fee. However, a deal was finally reached with the final fee being stated around £24m plus £6m in add-ons. Ramsdale’s insistence on joining the club played a big role in convincing Sheffield to agree to the deal.
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- There are Two Ways of Looking at Odegaard’s Transfer to Arsenal
With Partey already there, and the purchase of Lokonga and Odegaard, and Xhaka agreeing to a contract extension, Arsenal’s midfield is now stacked. Even though Aouar is very versatile, it makes very little sense to sign him right now. The club already have well-groomed youngsters in the squad, ready to play as and when required including the new number 10 Smith Rowe, Saka, and Martinelli.
The chances of Aouar’s transfer being successful look very slim this summer. The board should rather focus on the signing of a new forward and right-back, to give competition to Aubameyang and Bellerin, respectively. Lack of a goalscorer was highlighted in their first two league matches, against the newly promoted Brentford and their London rivals Chelsea.
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