Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has said that he wants to sign Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in the summer of 2022.
Lacazette is out of contract at Arsenal at the end of the season, and no new deal is in place at the moment.
The France international striker is now free to speak to foreign clubs over a pre-contract.
Lacazette joined Arsenal from Lyon in the summer of 2017.
Sky Sports quotes Aulas as saying about Lacazette: “It’s Lacazette, he interests us because he marked this club. It’s a profile that interests us and we have always been in contact with him.
“This is part of the guiding ideas brought by (new sporting director) Bruno Cheyrou. In our context, yes it (Lacazette) is more accessible than Benzema.
“We have to try to see if we can do it as a free player but we will not be alone.”
Lyon are seventh in the Ligue 1 table at the moment with 34 points from 22 matches, six points behind third-placed Marseille.
Peter Bosz’s side are rated at 12/5 on Betfair to finish in the top three of Ligue 1 this season.
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