Reports: Juventus overtake Arsenal in the race for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar
According to the latest reports, Juventus are set to rekindle their interest in Lyon star Houssem Aouar in the winter. The Frenchman is one of the most exciting young talents in the world of football at the moment and his progress was monitored by a lot of clubs last season.
Aouar was expected to leave Lyon this summer, with Juventus, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain all battling for his signature. However, he ended up staying put at Les Gones beyond the summer, and Juventus, among others, were left ruing the missed opportunity. The 22-year-old rose through the ranks at the Ligue 1 side and broke into the first team in the 2016/17 season. Since then, Aouar has managed 141 appearances for Lyon and scored 25 goals.
Last season, the Frenchman found the back of the net nine times from 41 games in all competitions, making top clubs in Europe stand up and take notice. This season, Aouar already has one goal from four games. And it seems that Juventus are reluctant to let such a talent slip out of their hands so easily.
Juventus have already enquired about Lyon’s demands for the player in 2021
If reports are to be believed, Juventus will attempt to prise Aouar away from Lyon in January and this time, they might have a couple of things working in their favour. For starters, Arsenal’s deadline day swoop of Thomas Partey will give the Serie A champions a welcome advantage in the race.
The Gunners were the favourites to secure Aouar’s signature in the summer ahead of Juventus and even had a €35m offer for the player rejected by Lyon. Arsenal eventually invested €50m on Partey and it is unlikely that they will have funds available to make a move for Aouar in January.
However, Juventus have not simply waited for their rivals to hand them the player on a platter. The Serie A champions are already in conversation with the French side and have enquired about their demands for the player.
The Italian side are preparing to work on Lyon’s demands and churn up a strategy that will help them bring Aouar to Turin in January. And in doing so, Juventus have successfully leapfrogged Arsenal to become the favourites for his signature as things stand.