Arsenal are reportedly set to see West Ham offer £20m to prise Olivier Giroud away from the Emirates this summer to break their club transfer record, helping them complete a deal for Alexandre Lacazette.
As noted by The Telegraph, Arsenal are keen on finally bringing an end to their protracted pursuit of Lacazette, with the French international being linked with a move to north London for well over 12 months.
The Gunners could get the perfect opportunity to sign him this summer by offloading Giroud first, with the report claiming that the Hammers are ready to bid £20m for the striker, and are willing to match or even slightly better his current £120,000-a-week wages which in turn would pave the way for them to make a £49m bid for his fellow Frenchman.
The 30-year-old has been a consistent goalscorer for Arsenal since his arrival in 2012, regularly bagging between 11 and 16 league goals each season. However, Arsene Wenger needs more than that from his first-choice forward, and Lacazette could tick that box given his record of scoring 20+ league goals in each of the last three campaigns with Lyon.
Although Giroud undoubtedly offers something different and Arsenal would be losing a key player in the squad, it may be the right time to change things given the current strategy and combination hasn’t resulted in major trophies over the last five years.
Especially with the money being touted in this report in terms of how much West Ham are willing to spend, it could be the boost for the transfer kitty needed for Arsenal to go out and land one of their primary targets this summer.
Further, it’s noted that Monaco pair Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar also remain targets for the north London giants, and so Wenger will have to balance things out with departures too if he wishes to make some serious additions to his squad.