Alexandre Lacazette joins Arsenal for club record fee of £52.7m
Alexandre Lacazette has joined Arsenal in a club record €60m (£52.7m) deal and signed a five-year contract with the Premier League side.
The France striker completed his medical on Tuesday after being given permission to travel to London by the Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas. Arsenal’s opening offer of €35m was rejected last week. The fee surpasses the £42.5m Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Özil in 2013.
Lacazette is expected to travel with his Arsenal team-mates to Sydney on Sunday for the first part of the club’s pre-season preparations.
A number of teams had registered an interest in Lacazette, who has 11 caps and was contracted to Lyon until 2019 after graduating through their exceptional academy system. The player had expressed a desire to join Atlético Madrid, having deemed the time right to further his career by departing Ligue 1, but the Spanish club’s transfer ban, which stands until January 2018, complicated their pursuit and allowed Arsenal to steal a march on the 26-year-old’s other suitors.
The striker, who has scored a century of league goals for Lyon in 203 appearances, is eager to make his mark at club level before the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
Lacazette had hoped to play in the Champions League next season, a competition for which Arsenal have failed to qualify after finishing fifth, but that disappointment could be eased by evidence of the club’s renewed ambition in the market under Arsène Wenger this summer.
CHELSEA AGREE RUDIGER DEAL
Chelsea have come to an accord with Roma over the transfer of Antonio Rudiger, Sky Sports reports.
The Germany international has long been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and looks set to soon complete the switch for a fee said to be in the region of £34 million.
The 24-year-old is yet to agree personal terms with the Premier League champions.
MBAPPE LAYS OUT MADRID CONDITIONS
Monaco's Kylian Mbappe, football's hottest attacking prospect, has laid out his conditions for joining Real Madrid, according to a report by Spanish outlet Diario Gol.
Despite being only 18 years old, the sought-after striker has made it clear that he will not accept a move unless he becomes one of Los Blancos' highest earners.
Mbappe is said to want wage parity with Gareth Bale, and will expect to be the club's second-highest-paid player behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
COSTA SET ON ATLETI MOVE
Outbound Chelsea striker Diego Costa is hopeful of having his future resolved by the end of the week, the Mirror reports, with Atletico Madrid said to have prepared a training regime that will keep the Spain international fit while he sits out their transfer ban.
The Liga club are reported to be offering only £22 million plus add-ons for the striker, who has flat-out refused a move to China, representing a bid that would be less than three times the amount Chelsea could have recouped if Costa had agreed a move to the CSL.
SCHMEICHEL AN OPTION FOR UTD
Leicester City's Kasper Schmeichel could soon follow in his father's footsteps with a move to Manchester United, according to a report by The Sun.
The tabloid suggests the Foxes are looking to tie up a £20 million-plus deal for Gent and Croatia international goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic, which could pave the way for Schmeichel's exit.
Any deal, however, would hinge on whether David De Gea leaves Old Trafford during the summer transfer window.
EVERTON TO LAND ROONEY & GIROUD
Everton are set to complete a sensational double swoop as Wayne Rooney and Olivier Giroud prepare for a move to Goodison Park, according to The Sun.
Rooney has been hotly tipped to return to his former club, with Everton pledging to maintain his current wages if they can land him on a free.
And he could be joined by Giroud, who has been linked with a £20 million move away from north London.
ALEXIS SET TO STAY AT ARSENAL
Alexis Sanchez plans to see out the rest of his contract at Arsenal despite speculation of a move to Manchester City, according to La Tercera.
Bayern Munich have also been linked with a move for the Chile international, but he will spend another season at the Emirates until his contract expires in the summer of 2018. Arsenal have also offered Alexis a new contract of £300,000-a-week in order to keep him in London.
RONALDO TO STAY AT MADRID... FOR NOW
Cristiano Ronaldo has informed Real Madrid that he intends to stay at the club, according to AS.
The Portugal captain had apparently decided he wanted to leave Spain back in June but has now reportedly backtracked and is happy to remain at the Bernabeu.
That could all change on July 31, though, when Ronaldo is due to appear in court over accusations of tax evasion, where the outcome of the preliminary hearing could see him seek a Madrid exit.
BALE WON'T RETURN TO PREMIER LEAGUE
Gareth Bale is not planning to leave Real Madrid following speculation linking the Wales international with a move to Manchester United, according to Sky Sports.
Reports have claimed that Madrid would be prepared to sell Bale in order to create room in their squad for Monaco teenager Kylian Mbappe.
However, Bale is happy at the Santiago Bernabeu and Madrid have no plans to let the forward leave in order to bring in new signings.
