Arsenal ‘to sell Lacazette to Atletico Madrid for £30m’ if star man Aubameyang signs new £250k-a-week contract
ARSENAL will sell Alexandre Lacazette to Atletico Madrid for £30million if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signs a new contract, according to reports.
The Gunners have faced a battle to keep hold of both strikers but could be about to lose their No9.
And according to the , Lacazette is on course to join Diego Simeone's side.
But the deal hinges on Aubameyang's future.
The Arsenal captain, 31, is out of contract next year but is in negotiations over signing an extension.
His new proposed deal is set to be for three years, pocketing him £250,000 per week.
But as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his squad, Lacazette could be sold to raise vital funds.
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The Frenchman, 29, came close to joining Atleti in 2017 before a transfer ban for the LaLiga giants shelved the transfer.
Arsenal came calling and paid Lyon an initial club-record £47.7m for him in July 2017 on a five-year deal.
Since then, despite scoring 48 goals in 127 appearances, Lacazette has struggled at times to hold down the No9 position under Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta.
With Aubameyang looking likely to stay and youngsters Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli knocking on the door, Lacazette could find himself expendable.
Allowing Lacazette to go to Atletico could pave the way for Thomas Partey to head in the opposite direction.
Ghana star Partey has been top of Arsenal’s shopping list for months and is keen to move to the Premier League after nine years in the Spanish capital.
The central midfielder, 27, has a £45m release clause in his contract and Atletico are adamant that Arsenal will have to pay the full asking price to get their man.
Arsenal are also chasing deals to sign Dani Ceballos permanently as well as highly-rated Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes in a spree that could cost £100m.
Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Matteo Guendouzi, Shkodran Mustafi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mohamed Elneny could all therefore follow Lacazette through the exit door.
