Charles Watts, the Arsenal correspondent for Goal, has been discussing the club’s pursuit of Houssem Aouar on his YouTube channel.
The Gunners have been linked with a move for the 22-year-old midfielder but up until now, the two clubs are yet to agree on a transfer fee for the Frenchman.
According to L’Equipe (via the Sun), Lyon have already found a replacement for Aouar in AC Milan’s Lucas Paqueta and Watts suggested that could be a sign a deal that would see Arsenal get their man is edging closer. Here is what he had to say on Tuesday:
“Interesting developments at Lyon today, in terms of incomings at Lyon, not so much outgoings, not so much directly involving [Houssem] Aouar but certainly potentially effecting him and effecting Arsenal’s chances of getting Aouar.
“Because they are in the process of signing Lucas Paqueta, the Brazilian whose been at AC Milan, he is now heading to Lyon for about €20m.
“According to reports in Italy, Paqueta is very, very close to being a Lyon player, he is seen as a Houssem Aouar replacement so if they’re bringing him in to add to their attacking midfield options, then that could certainly help Arsenal in terms of getting Aouar out.”
TIF Thoughts…
In Watts’ view, the fact that Lyon are hoping to bring in Paqueta suggests they are aware that they could be set to lose Aouar between now and when the transfer window closes next week.
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Having come through the ranks with Les Gones, the £44.55m-rated player made 25 appearances in Ligue 1 last season and according to WhoScored, his average performance rating was an impressive 7.02/10.
Therefore, you can understand why Arsenal appear to be very keen on bringing him to the Emirates Stadium.