Olympique Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed that Arsenal recently submitted a transfer bid for 22-year-old midfielder Houssem Aouar.
The offer was viewed as “weak”, however, resulting in a prompt rejection from Lyon. During a television interview, Aulas had the following to say, “There was a timid offer. We felt like they didn’t consider the fact that this is a player in the French national team. So, it was an offer that did not even make us consider making a sale.”
In response to the Gunners’ initial offer, Lyon has set some strict terms of sale, including the fact that Arsenal has until Friday to secure the signing of Aouate, otherwise, the player will not leave the club at all.
“We will tell the players that whatever will not be settled in terms of departures before Friday, there will be no more departures,” Aulas confirmed on Monday.
Lyon have reportedly set a $47 million price tag for Aouar, which may prove steep given Arsenal’s current financial predicament.
After all, Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke confirmed at the beginning of August that 55 members of staff were to be made redundant due to the financial setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
