French sensation Thomas Lemar broke into the big stage of football after a fantastic last season at Monaco. The left-footed attacking midfielder, who can also play as a winger, scored 13 goals and created 14 more in 52 appearances last season. The free-flowing star player created 106 chances alone for the Ligue 1 champions AS Monaco in the last term.
According to reports, Lemar was very close to leaving Monaco this summer and is now again being linked with Arsenal, although the sum is set to be well below what it was previously. The French champions oversaw a mass exodus of players including star footballers like Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko. Lemar was also close to a move to England, according to Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev.
He confirmed that Liverpool, who signed Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer, were ‘really interested’ in Lemar. However, it was Arsenal, he claimed, that came really close to sealing a deal for the Frenchman.
With Alexis Sanchez set to leave for Manchester City, the North London club looked to bring in another winger to replace the Chilean. A bid for £90 million was made. However, the deal that began in the eleventh hour was scrapped by Monaco and subsequently, Arsenal refused to let go of Alexis without signing a replacement.
The Monaco vice-president said that it was too late for the deal to be completed and it would have been difficult to find alternatives so late in the window.
He further ruled out the possibility of a move in January but said that there is a”fair chance” that the winger is likely to leave next summer.
Vasilyev said that he does not see the club making any major changes in the January window but things will be very different after the World Cup and could possibly see Lemar head for the exit door.
Vasilyev added: “We understand that we are basically a selling club and we accept that but at the same time we are in a good financial situation so we don’t have to sell and we want to keep the club competitive. This is not about making money, it’s about being successful. So there is always this balance.”
Should the winger make a move to England, his ideal destination would be the Emirates Stadium. With Alexis set to leave, Lemar would seamlessly fit into the first team role and it would be down to the winger and his performances to keep a hold of his position.
