Lyon president confirms three clubs chasing Aouar
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas claims three major clubs are interested in signing star midfielder Houssem Aouar.
Arsenal has emerged as favourite to prise Aouar from Lyon, though the Premier League club is yet to agree a fee as the Ligue 1 side hold out for £55million (€60m).
French outlet Telefoot reported on Friday that Aouar has agreed personal terms with Arsenal, which is reportedly willing to pay £36m (€40m) for the 22-year-old.
Aouar, however, has also been linked to the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain following Lyon's memorable run to the 2019-2020 Champions League semi-final.
"Things haven't really advanced. We know that three major clubs – two in the short term and one in the medium term – are interested in Houssem," Aulas said when asked about Aouar after the arrival of Lucas Paqueta from Milan.
"They are some of the biggest clubs. They have all been in the Champions League and have performed well. Talks are difficult. The clubs are not able to provide us with financial commitments.
"Some, like I have said with Barcelona, are in great difficulty. That is the difficulty. We are all working, night and day."
Lyon has struggled for form since kicking off its 2020-2021 season, managing just one win from five games in Ligue 1.
Rudi Garcia's Lyon are 11th in the table, seven points behind unbeaten leader Rennes.
