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Arsenal were meant to be ready to turn the £60M sale of Alexis Sanchez and £35M sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into a monster £90M-plus bid for Monaco’s 21-year-old attacking star Thomas Lemar. It appears now, though, that they will not be able to get a deal across the line.
With rumours swirling that Lemar is resisting a move to Arsenal because he is set on playing Champions League football this season, journalists with ties to the London club are now admitting a deal is unlikely—with the potential knock-on effect being that Sanchez to City is likely off.
At this stage, Arsenal don't think Lemar will happen. Draxler still possible but unlikely. Sanchez not happening as it stands.
— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) August 31, 2017
It remains unclear at this time what that means for Liverpool. Their last offer for Lemar was £75M, and while Monaco did not reject it out of hand, the Ligue 1 club had hoped for late interest from another club and a potential bidding war that would drive the fee above £90M.
They appeared to have that with Arsenal joining the race today. Now, they don’t, and it remains to be seen if they will be willing to deal with Liverpool at the £75M mark if there are no other suitors before now and the close of the transfer window in a little more than seven hours.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s medical team remain on standby in France awaiting the outcome of negotiations. If a deal is struck they will have to work quickly to clear the player before he faces off against the Netherlands in this evening’s World Cup qualifier.