Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette will be sold as soon as Lyon find a replacement, reveals club president

Jean-Michel Aulas has revealed that the club will sell Lacazette when they have found a suitable replacement, with Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz in their sights

Lacazette wants to bring his time at Lyon to an end (Getty )

Lyon’s president has confirmed that Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette still wants to leave the club, but has insisted that he will not be sold until a suitable replacement is found.

On Monday the French side signed young Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore in a £10m deal, leading many to speculate that the club were paving the way for Lacazette’s departure.

But Jean-Michel Aulas has said that the club do not see Traore as a like for like replacement and would only sell Lacazette when they have recruited another forward – thought to be Real Madrid’s Mariano Diaz.

“Our position is that as long as we have not signed his replacement, we will keep him,” Aulas said about Lacazette at Traore’s unveiling.

“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 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.

“We have not received any concrete offers for Lacazette up to now but that could happen at any moment.”

Traore spent last season playing on loan for Ajax (Getty)

Lacazette recently confirmed he would be interested in a move to England, revealing in a Facebook Live interview with Eurosport that a potential transfer was “an interesting option”.

“That could be an interesting option, it is a great league with interesting teams,” he said during the interview.