Well, well, well just when it looked like Alexandre Lacazette is settled at Lyon despite intense speculations linking him with a move to the Premier League, the French striker has given a stormy interview to L’Equipe.
Get Football News France and Daily Mail both report that the striker has hit out at club President Jean Michel Aulas for his role in negotiations over signing a new deal. It is believed that despite the 24-year-old signing a contract extension is unhappy on how the process came about.
Lacazette, who signed a contract extension till 2019 worth £3.1m a year has also hit out at manager Hubert Fournier for failing to protect him. The striker who is unhappy with Aulas making the details of the deal public said in the interview, “It hurt. I think that is a justified word to use. When you are a youngster at the club, in the town, and you have never really behaved in a nasty way to anyone, to be treated like that, yes, it hurts. I had had my best ever season, I really helped the team to reach the Champions League again.”
Lacazette who had a stunning last season scored 31 in all competitions and was linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in the summer. In fact we had reported last week that Chelsea could be plotting a move for the striker in the upcoming January transfer window. Jose Mourinho believes Lacazette is the ideal option to strengthen his squad following a disastrous start to the Premier League season.
In this campaign so far, Lacazette has scored just once in six Ligue 1 matches as he struggling with a niggling back injury. The Frenchman’s latest outburst in public will give a major boost to Chelsea and Arsenal who are desperate to sign a top quality striker who will be definite upgrades over their current players in the squad.
The only interesting question is whether either of the London sides are willing to splash Lyon’s evaluation of €50m for the attacker. Aulas had earlier said in May in an interview with Canal+ (relayed by Gianluca Di Marzio), “We’ll do all we can to keep him. Even 50 million wouldn’t be enough, he doesn’t have a price.”
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