Arsenal and Manchester United eyeing a swoop for Ligue 1 star

With the Premier League season inching closer to its conclusion clubs will already be putting together their summer transfer wishlist.

One man who is reportedly attracting a string of interest from some England’s elite is Lyon star and former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele.

The Mirror are reporting that both Arsenal and Manchester United are strong admirers of the 22-year-old and are currently weighing up a potential move in the summer.

🇫🇷📰 | #AFC

Unai Emery is an admirer of Lyon striker Moussa Dembele. Arsenal want to sign him to replace Danny Welbeck but face competition from Man Utd. [@EuroUnited6] 🥈 pic.twitter.com/0yIsZIojXw

— afcSource™ (@afcSource) April 14, 2019

 

Moussa Dembele on his way to the Premier League?

Since making the move from Celtic Park in a deal worth £19.7 million, Dembele has impressed many around Lyon in his debut season in Ligue 1.

Scoring 19 goals for Les Gones and playing a huge part in Lyon’s push for Champions League football, the pacey forward is under contract at the Groupama Stadium until 2023.

With Lyon chief Jean-Michel Aulas regarded to be one of the toughest negotiators in Europen football, the Ligue 1 outfit are expected to demand quite a fee if they’re to be tempted into a deal.

Despite having both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette at his disposal, it appears that Unai Emery is looking to reignite his interest in the 22-year-old.

The former PSG boss was heavily linked with a potential move for Dembele during Emery’s last season with Les Parisiens and had enquired about the possibility of bringing the striker to the Parc des Princes.

While Arsenal are reportedly interested in the opportunity to bring Dembele to the Premier League, the Gunners face stern competition from fellow top four hopefuls Manchester United.

Desperate to bolster his attacking options for next season, Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in the market for a new striker.

Dembele could also be viewed as a potential replacement for Romelu Lukaku, whose agent admitted earlier this month that the striker is open to leaving Old Trafford at the end of the season.

Dembele’s potential arrival at Old Trafford would also ease the burden on Marcus Rashford, who has scored three goals in his last 10 appearances.

Another interested third party that will be keeping close tabs on Dembele’s future will be his former side Celtic.

Inserting a sell-on clause when the 22-year-old left the Scottish giants last summer, Neil Lennon’s side could make quite the extra profit.

Intitled to 10% of the transfer fee if Dembele is to complete a Premier League switch, Celtic have previously reaped the rewards of including a sell-on clause when some of their biggest stars have left Glasgow.

When Virgil van Dijk moved from Southampton to Liverpool in a fee worth £75million, the Premiership champions earned a cool £7.5 million from that record-breaking deal.

Relevant news