Arsenal to Challenge Liverpool for Thomas Lemar

Thomas Lemar could be a Liverpool player within a matter of hours. He could also be an Arsenal player. Such is life on transfer deadline day, when stories can completely change in a matter of minutes and done deals can turn into heartbreak before you knew they were meant to be done.

Reports in France had previously claimed that despite Monaco’s public talk of not wanting to sell Lemar, the Ligue 1 side were dragging their heels not out of an unwillingness to deal but in the hope that a second bidder would arrive late to drive up the price of the young star.

They may have gotten their way with reports emerging this hour that Arsenal have agreed a £55M plus £5M in add-ons deal to allow Alexis Sanchez to head to Manchester City—but that they will not announce the deal unless and until they can turn around and secure Lemar’s signature.

In a potentially depressing twist for Liverpool fans, the Gunners would be using both the Sanchez money and the money they are set to receive from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in order to now turn around and potentially beat the Reds to signing Thomas Lemar.

Liverpool, though, still have a team standing by to conduct a medical on the player, who is in Paris preparing for a game tonight with France’s national team, and it’s not impossible that Liverpool could win a bidding war for the player—and would end up the preferred destination for him.