Agent claims he offered Alexandre Lacazette Arsenal exit
Russian agent Dmitry Cheltsov has claimed that he offered Alexandre Lacazette to Zenit Saint Petersburg over the summer transfer window.
The French striker, following eight seasons with Lyon, completed a transfer to Arsenal in 2017 for a fee of £46.5m.
Lacazette, following a mixed opening campaign, enjoyed a strong 2018-19 season during which he scored 19 goals in all competitions.
Speaking in an interview with Sports Business Gazeta, Cheltsov said: “I offered Alexandre Lacazette to Zenit. Their sporting director Javier Ribalta said to me: ‘Are you crazy? His release clause is €68m.’
“I told him you can negotiate with Arsenal. I am sure they will be ready to accept something between €50m and €55m. His salary would be €7-8m after tax.”
Despite the agent’s claims, it is understood that Arsenal never had any intention of selling Lacazette over the summer.
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The club has since broken its transfer record to secure the services of another striker from Ligue 1 in the form of Nicolas Pepe, who moved to North London for a fee of £72m.