Transfer rumor roundup 6/28: Arsenal closing on Thomas Lemar
By Nick Pitner
Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors surrounding which players could be joining new teams in the coming months.
Wednesday’s transfer news begins with L’Equipe’s report that Arsenal have submitted an offer of far more than €30 million for Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.
The 21-year-old Frenchman caught Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s eye while playing for Caen back in 2015, and it appears the longtime Gunners boss is now ready to bring him to the Emirates.
According to the Daily Mail, talks between Arsenal and Monaco are advancing smoothly, with Lemar’s admiration of Wenger helping the process.
Along with helping Monaco to their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years this past season, Lemar tallied 14 goals and 17 assists across all competitions.
In league play alone, Lemar led all U-21 players in Europe’s top five competitions with 72 chances created, per Squawka.
Such creativity, as well as Lemar’s ability to play a few midfield positions, figures to allow him to acclimate nicely to Arsenal’s attack-minded setup.
Meanwhile, in Spain, Sevilla have confirmed that they’ve reached a transfer agreement with Inter Milan for midfielder Ever Banega.
Of course, the Argentinean only left Sevilla last summer after leading the Spanish club to back-to-back Europa League titles.
In his lone season at Inter, the 28-year-old placed in the team’s top four in goals (six) and assists (six), as well as key passes (2.1) and dribbles completed (1.5) per game, according to WhoScored.
Although Banega’s switch is pending him passing a medical, the veteran is anticipated to rejoin Sevilla on a three-year contract.
Whereas Sevilla confirmed an arrival, German side FC Koln confirmed striker Anthony Modeste will not be leaving this summer.
The 29-year-old reportedly traveled to China this week ahead of completing a €35 million move to Tianjin Quanjian, but Koln released a statement Wednesday declaring that they’ve terminated discussions with the CSL outfit.
In light of that unplanned turn, it now appears Modeste will remain at Koln, where he’s under contract until 2021.
Since signing for Koln two years ago, Modeste has netted 40 times in the Bundesliga, including 25 goals last season, when he not only ranked third league-wide, but also propelled Koln to a fifth-place finish.
With Modeste suddenly out of the picture, Tianjin Quanjian have decided to shift their focus to the Bundesliga’s top scorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sport Bild reports.
Tianjin Quanjian have yet to made an official approach for Aubameyang, but after holding discussions over the player earlier this offseason, they’re privy to the €70 million price tag Borussia Dortmund have attached to him.
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While the Fabio Cannavaro-managed club are prepared to meet that requirement, they’re also preparing to offer Aubameyang an astounding €30 million salary to convince him to head east.
Whether the player, who scored 40 times across all competitions last season, is open to the move remains to be seen, but Dortmund’s self-imposed deadline of July 26 to sort out Aubameyang’s future reportedly remains in place.
To conclude, a well-known name that could be moving west is Wesley Sneijder, who ESPN reports is verging on a deal with Los Angeles FC.
Although the expansion team isn’t scheduled to start playing until 2018, Sneijder is anticipated to sign a two-year contract to become their first designated player.
Currently with Turkish power Galatasaray, the 33-year-old’s contract offer is believed to be worth $3.5 million per season.
In 28 Super Lig appearances last season, the decorated Dutchman compiled five goals and 15 assists.