The Lyon midfielder is one of the hottest talents in Europe.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, Manchester City and Arsenal are set to fight tooth and nail for the signing of Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, who is one of the exciting talents in Europe.
As of now, Arsenal remain keen on signing the French midfielder, who had concluded a brilliant season with Les Gones. However, Gunners are let down by his £54m valuation. Arsenal have instead offered Matteo Guendouzi as a makeweight in the deal for Aouar, only to the dismay of Lyon Sporting director Juninho.
Juninho said,
I get on very well with [Arsenal technical director] Edu, we spoke on the phone. Aouar is really appreciated by Mikel Arteta.
‘Guendouzi was discussed during the call, he is a great player, but he is the wrong profile.
‘We are not interested in that at all, we cut the conversation.’
Manchester City also could rival the Gunners for the signing of Aouar as Juninho revealed Pep Guardiola’s admiration for the young midfielder.
For City, of course, Guardiola likes the player, but is that the profile that they are looking for today? We don’t know that either and we have not received any official offers.’
Juninho also emphasized the fact there haven’t been any formal offers from the suitors for the signing of Aouar.
‘I think that has been happening directly with agents.
‘We were not directly contacted. Maybe [director general] Vincent Ponsot was contacted by Manchester City, I am not sure.
The 22-year-old is said to have made up his mind not to continue with Lyon and ready to leave this summer. It has been understood that Lyon not participating in the Champions League next season could be the major reason for Aouar’s decision.
Aouar had a breath-taking last season with Lyon, helping his side to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. The French midfielder took the centre-stage after his impressive display in the win over Man City in the quarter-finals. He also scored in the first leg of the round of 16 fixture against Juventus – one of his suitors.
Those performances haven’t failed to catch the attention of French manager Didier Deschamps, who called Aouar to the France national team for the Nations League. But the French youngster withdrew after testing positive for Coronavirus.
Arsenal are in need of midfield reinforcements, but it remains to be seen whether they pull off such a high-end transfer. Man City could also sign Aouar to replace David Silva permanently.
