Tottenham are reportedly on the spot to sign Thomas Lemar from Atletico Madrid, a twist that will come as a blow to Arsenal who have looked at the Frenchman. The Gunners are long-term admirers of the forward and could return for him this month.
The La Liga club are said to prefer selling Lemar to the Premier League.
Arsenal’s long-standing interest in Lemar goes right back to August 2017 when the Gunners and Liverpool went head-to-head for his signature.
Both clubs failed, despite Arsenal reportedly offering up to £92m.
Atletico ended up getting the Frenchman for £63m and are therefore demanding close to that figure.
Arsenal chief Raul Sanllehi recently hinted that the club won’t do major business this month.
“Globally, it’s not the strategic window. By definition, that’s the summer window,” he said.
“That’s when you plan the season ahead.
“Last summer we did an incredible effort where we were very grateful for the support we got from our ownership to really go one step further and make, as I said, a real investment to increase our expectations for the season.
“The winter window is much more tactical. Now we’re going to have conversations between Edu and Mikel to see what things we can do or what we should do.
“But again, the strategical window and the one that Edu and his team are always working for in the longer term is the summer window.”