Atletico Madrid enter race to sign Arsenal striker

Atletico Madrid are set to enter the race to sign Alexandre Lacazette from Arsenal.

Luis Suarez fired Diego Simeone’s side to a first LaLiga title in seven years last season but the Argentine coach wants to bring more competition to his attack as his side relied heavily on the Uruguayan for goals.

Suarez scored 21 goals for the Rojiblancos, including winning strikes in their final two wins of the season against Osasuna and Real Valladolid as they pipped neighbours Real to the title by two points on the final day.

Their next highest scorer was Marcos Llorente with 12 strikes while forwards Angel Correa and Joao Felix were inconsistent.

Moussa Dembele, who joined on loan from Lyon in January, barely got a look in the side and managed no goals in five substitute appearances.

Suarez turned 34 in January and while his signing from Barcelona for next-to-nothing was a masterstroke from Atletico, they know he cannot shoulder the burden of scoring most of their goals for much longer.

The Uruguayan also had a dip in form at a crucial stage in the campaign, going five games without a goal as Atletico’s title bid faded before he roared back to pull them over the line.

ESPN report that Atletico see Lacazette as the solution to their striking conundrum.

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Simeone has been a long-time admirer of Lacazette and tried to sign him in the summer of 2017, even agreeing a fee with his then club Lyon.

But the move was torpedoed by FIFA slapping Atletico with a transfer ban for illegally signing minors from outside Europe.

Lacazette instead joined Arsenal for a club record £46million but as he has only one year left on his deal, the north Londoners are open to bids for the striker, with reports saying they would accept £15million for the 30-year-old.