Manchester City ‘set to battle Arsenal to £54m signing of Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar‘ with Pep Guardiola desperate to steal Frenchman away from former assistant Mikel Arteta.
The 22-year-old, Who has been very impressive for Lyon over the last two seasons has been tracked by the Citizens for 18 months, but they have not had any discussions with Lyon about signing him so far this summer.
According to The Mirror, City manager Pep Guardiola may battle his former assistant Mikel Arteta as he looks to sign the 22-year-old.
As per the report, Lyon sporting director Juninho has revealed Arsenal have made the first move for Aouar with the Gunners exploring a player-plus-cash offer which would see midfielder Matteo Guendouzi go the other way.
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The Gunners risk missing out on his signature as currently they do not have the funds to match Lyon’s reported €60m asking price.
Aouar emerged as one of the best players in the Champions League last season with five goal contributions in eight games. Only Messi and Neymar averaged more dribbles per game than Aouar (4.4) in the Champions League last term.
Could be the missing piece to complete Man City’s long-term midfield
Aouar could be Ilkay Gundogan’s long-term replacement. Gundogan, 29, still has a few years left in his game, and like Foden, his responsibilities will surely increase after David Silva left.
Aouar, like Gundogan, is adept at playing in central midfield, defensive midfield, and on occasion in attacking midfield.
With Phil Foden and Rodri already identified as the replacements for Silva and Fernandinho, Aouar could complete City’s future midfield trio.
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