Arsenal are in talks to sign an unknown striker according to Emanuele Giulianelli, but will turn to Alexandre Lacazette should talks fail to prove fruitful.
The journalist was the first to reveal the deal which would send Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach to North-London this summer, and he has now claimed that there is a deal in place to sign Alexandre Lacazette, despite the club holding preference in another signature.
“Despite all rumours, Alexandre Lacazette, of Lyon, is still not the first option for the striker role [at Arsenal], but he is ready to land.” Giulianelli said.
“Arsenal are working on a secret name, not yet revealed, and the recent trip to Germany of some club members could mean something. Or maybe it was for [Julian] Draxler? No-one knows yet.
“What we know is when and if Arsenal realise that they won’t be able to take their first choice, they will take Lacazette. The budget ready for the striker plus the winger is about £100m.”
This report could ease the minds of Arsenal fans, who had looked increasingly likely to fail to bring in the proven goalscorer the squad craves, with Lacazette as the back-up option.
Reports that our strike-target could be based in Germany could well mean Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a possibility, but I think the more realistic capture of Javier Hernandez could well be in line.
The Mexican scored an impressive 17 league goals for Bayer Leverkusen last term, after being shunned by the then Man United boss Louis Van Gaal.
Sir Alex Ferguson clearly saw a talent in the forward, and I for one have always had a soft spot for Chicharito, despite playing for the Manchester Red.
Would you be happy with Hernandez as back-up to Giroud?