Lyon will only sell Lacazette when they’ve bagged replacement

Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas has warned Arsenal they won’t be allowed to sign Alexandre Lacazette until his side have brought in his replacement.

The Ligue 1 club are in talks to sell the France striker to the Gunners, though Lyon have warned Arsenal that their opening £44million offer will not be enough to secure his signature.

And speaking at the unveiling of £8.8million signing Betrand Traore from Chelsea, Aulas admits Lyon will only let Lacazette leave once they have secured his replacement.

“Today [Monday] our position is that as long as we have not signed his replacement, we will keep him,” Aulas said at Traore’s unveiling.

Aulas was asked if Lacazette wanted the move to Arsenal after seeing a transfer to Atletico Madrid break down due to their transfer embargo and he hinted that the Emirates would not be the striker’s preferred destination.

“He expressed the wish to leave and he was given an agreement to go to the club of his heart, but things did not happen,” he said.

“He wants to leave. We will discuss it in the coming weeks. If so, offers will be heard, provided they match the value of the player.”

Lacazette scored 37 times in 45 appearances for Lyon across all competitions last season and is contracted to the club until the summer of 2019.