Arsenal reportedly now face competition from Liverpool for the signing of Thomas Lemar as Jurgen Klopp considers Philippe Coutinho replacements.
As reported by Le 10 Sport, Coutinho has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona this summer and so the Reds will need to replace him if he completes his switch to the Nou Camp.
However, that’s where the negative knock-on effect comes in for the Gunners, as it’s claimed that Lemar is a possible target for Liverpool with the 21-year-old strongly paired with a move Arsenal for weeks now.
Arsene Wenger has had bids of €40m, €45m and €50m all rejected by the Ligue 1 champions, as they look to avoid losing another key player from their title-winning campaign.
As per the report, the French international still prefers a move to Arsenal which will be a major help in negotiations, but it remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool can reach an agreement with Monaco on a transfer fee which could then pave the way for a move to Merseyside instead.
Given how hard they’ve been pushing for his signature it will be a major setback for Arsenal to miss out, especially to direct rivals, but for now the report suggests that they still hold the advantage but must return to Monaco with an improved offer.
Lemar scored 14 goals and provided 17 assists in 55 appearances in all competitions last season, and adding him to an attacking trio of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette would surely be a masterstroke from Wenger.