Arsenal have moved a step closer to signing Monaco star Thomas Lemar after Bayern Munich pulled out of the race to sign the young winger.
Lemar was highly sought-after last summer and eventually opted to stay at the French champions, but he is expected to move on in the near future.
Bayern were said to be one of the front-runners for his signature, but German newspaper Kicker are now reporting that he will not head to the Allianz Arena.
That news will come as a huge boost for Arsenal, who bid £92million for the youngster on deadline day in the summer, but missed out.
It is unlikely Arsene Wenger would go as high as that come January or next summer, but the Gunners are set to go head-to-head with Liverpool for the player.
A move is more likely to come at the end of the season, with Monaco keen to keep hold of their man at least for another full campaign.
Last week, Monaco’s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev spoke about the possibility of Lemar moving to pastures new.
‘Definitely next summer will be something to look at, although you know in football there are no guarantees,’ he said.
‘We had some players who were supposed to leave this summer but didn’t leave because of X, Y, Z. I think it would be fair to say Thomas will have a fair chance to an exit next year.
‘January, in football, never say never, but this is not what we’re thinking of, this is really not in our plans.
‘Then we have to wait and see, how the team does, in different competitions, if we have an interest in him, and also his ambitions after the World Cup. January doesn’t seem like the right time for major changes in the team.’
