Chelsea to battle Arsenal and Liverpool for £80m Monaco star Thomas Lemar
- Liverpool and Arsenal pushed to sign Thomas Lemar in the transfer window
- The France forward stayed put despite a mass exodus from Ligue 1 champions
- Lemar chose to remain but has struggled to repeat his success this season
The chase for young Monaco star Thomas Lemar looks set to intensify in January.
Liverpool and Arsenal both came close to signing the France forward in August but he chose to stay where he was despite a mass summer exodus.
The two English clubs now appear to have a third competitor for Lemar's signature with reports in France claiming that Chelsea have entered the race.
Thomas Lemar has emerged a transfer target for a trio of Premier League clubs
L'Equipe report that the Premier League champions are set to bid £80million next month to test the Ligue 1 club's nerve.
Lemar stayed put in the summer despite the high-profile departures of a string of first-team players including Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernard Mendy.
Monaco were the surprise package of European football after reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, only to be knocked out by Juventus.
The Monaco star was close to moving to England towards the end of the transfer window
After a breakout 2016-17 which saw him earn his first full international call-up, the 22-year-old has struggled to replicate the form he showed last year.
Lemar made 55 appearances and scored 14 times, but has found the net only once in 15 games this season.
He has been out for a month with a shoulder injury and only returned to action at the weekend against Troyes.
Reports in France suggest Chelsea have joined Liverpool and Arsenal in the hunt for Lemar
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