There has been a huge Amadou Onana boost for West Ham United and Arsenal as L’Equipe makes major new claim.
London rivals West Ham and Arsenal will likely be competing with one another for the European spots again next season.
And it appears they will not just be competing on the pitch, but off it too in the transfer market.
Both the Hammers and Gunners are being linked with a host of players.
Mikel Arteta and David Moyes have identified central midfield reinforcements as a top priority before the transfer window closes.
West Ham and Arsenal are said to be competing to try and prise Youri Tielemans away from Leicester this summer (The Mirror).
And the London rivals have also been linked with giant Lille midfield powerhouse Amadou Onana.
CalcioMercato claim Arsenal are eyeing the 6ft 5in Belgian 20-year-old.
The Daily Mail report that West Ham offered Lille £20m for Onana.
But the French club reportedly rejected that offer and told West Ham – and Arsenal – that Onana is simply not for sale this summer.
Things appear to have changed significantly, though.
There has been a huge Onana boost for West Ham and Arsenal as L’Equipe makes a major new claim.
Because L’Equipe claim Lille are closing in on another midfielder as they look to reshape their midfield to make do without Onana.
And the report states the Ligue 1 side will now listen to offers over £35m.
Lille are close to announcing the signing of midfielder Remy Cabella on a free transfer having just recently signed another midfielder on a free – Jonas Martin.
And L’Equipe claims it is all part of a process to transform the way Lille play through the middle of the pitch.
As a result it is stated that Lille are now willing to listen to offers over Є40m (£35m) for Onana from English clubs Arsenal and West Ham but also warn Monaco are interested.
“This boost to recruitment attests to the transformation of the Lille workforce,” L’Equipe reports.
“From a transition team, she is gradually evolving towards a richer formation in possession environments (with Martin, André, Angel Gomes, Cabella) with profiles in line with the ambitions of his trainer Paulo Fonseca.
“The market is also likely to ratify a deeper evolution of the France 2021 champion group, which is entering a new cycle.
“Still under contract until 2026, midfielder Amadou Onana is in demand. In particular by Monaco or several English clubs.
“Lille has not planned to give it up this summer. Unless a fantastic proposal. The club even refused an offer of €30m (£25m). He bases his claims on the arrival price of Vitinha at PSG (€40m – £35m).
“The fact remains that if Onana were to leave, only a season after his arrival, for a large indemnity (cut by 20% on the capital gain on resale in favor of Hamburg), Lille could use part of this windfall to strengthen more seriously his team.”
That kind of figure – £35m – would not put West Ham or Arsenal off and could turn out to be an absolute bargain.
At the same time it would represent a near £30m profit for Lille, who paid just £6m for Onana from Hamburg just one year ago.
In terms of stature Arsenal may be a bigger club than West Ham, but there is little to separate the two on the pitch in recent years.
So the Hammers must act fast if they want to beat the Gunners to one of the most highly rated midfield talents in Europe.
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