ATLETICO MADRID are ready to flog Thomas Lemar after both the coaching staff and the board have given up on him, according to reports.
The French World Cup Winner was famously earmarked by Arsene Wenger as the man to replace Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal.
Former Arsenal target Thomas Lemar has endured a difficult spell at Atletico MadridCredit: AFP or licensors
The Gunners saw a staggering £92million offer for the 24-year-old rejected while he was at Monaco, before he sealed a £63m switch to Atletico in 2018.
Although touted as one of football’s brightest young talents, Diego Simeone’s record signing has since struggled to settle at the Wanda Metropolitano.
And France Football report that Atletico are ready to cut their losses on Lemar and are already lining up Valencia star Rodrigo as his replacement.
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French International Lemar only managed three goals and as many assists in his first La Liga campaign, as the Madrid outfit finished 11 points off champions Barcelona.
He has since found himself relegated to the substitutes bench for most of the current season, and is yet to open his account in his ten appearances.
It is a remarkable fall from grace for Lemar, who had also attracted the attention of Liverpool as the Reds attempted to cope with Phillippe Coutinho’s exit.
But it was Arsenal who came the closest to landing him on deadline day in 2017, when it appeared Sanchez would join Manchester City.
The Gunners former transfer guru Dick Law told Goal: “We did try to get Thomas Lemar that day, but it didn’t get done.
“We thought we had Lemar and then that would have meant Sanchez to Manchester City. It was a simple operation of using the Sanchez money to pay for Lemar.
“We had a deal done for Lemar, Sanchez had a deal done with City. But Lemar had been called up for France and Monaco had played the thing out and they ended up playing it out too long.
“They didn’t send a clear signal to the player before he left for the national team and when they did send that signal, Lemar was already there with the French national team on the day of their international match and the deal fell apart.
“It was a shame because it would have been interesting to see Lemar at Arsenal, but you have to move on from these decisions and circumstances. You can’t sit and dwell on what might have been.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
