6 possible destinations for Alexandre Lacazette after Atletico Madrid transfer ban
Atletico Madrid’s transfer bad has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), meaning that they will not be allowed to sign players this summer.
Diego Simeone’s men had been targeting significant reinforcements, with Chelsea striker Diego Costa among those players eyed up, but it was Lyon attacker Alexandre Lacazette who seemed likeliest to move to Spain.
Lacazette, 26, has scored 100 Ligue 1 goals for Olympique Lyonnais since debuting for the club in 2009 and has mustered at least 20 league strikes in each of the last three seasons.
Back in favour with France, he is regarded as one of the top talents in Le Championnat, and having announced his desire to leave his hometown club in order to test himself at another side, he is poised to be at the heart of one of European football’s great transfer storms over the course of the campaign.
Top clubs all over the continent will be scrambling for his signature, but here are the leading six candidates.
#1 Arsenal
If there is a club who should be chasing Lacazette this summer harder than anyone, it is Arsenal, although their lack of Champions League football is certainly a factor that works against them in this pursuit. Nevertheless, Arsene Wenger could use him as a supplementary player to the likes of Alexis Sanchez, or the attack could be built around him should the Chile star depart.
Lacazette is a Wenger-style player, technical and quick, yet he offers the kind of finishing power that other at the Emirates Stadium lack. The 26-year-old is just coming into his prime and he could excel in North London if given the chance – but the Gunners will have to pay a fee that may be outside of their manager’s comfort zone.