Houssem Aouar to Arsenal: Personal terms 'agreed' £41.25m bid, Lyon's stance, swap deal

Will Arsenal add another midfielder to their ranks before the transfer window closes at the beginning of next month?

That is the key question for Gunners supporters now, who have been pleased with the work Mikel Arteta has done so far in the transfer market.

Gabriel Magalhaes, Willian and Dani Ceballos returning on loan have been good additions, but another midfielder remains a key priority.

Both Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar have been linked, but deals are yet to come to fruition.

However, could a move for Aouar be edging ever closer?

According to Italian journalist Luca Fiorino, personal terms have been a greed and Arsenal are set to make a bid of around £41.25million.

With that in mind, here is a round-up of everything we know so far about the Frenchman's future and Arsenal's interest in him.

Arsenal 'bid'

According to French outlet L'Equipe, Arsenal made an offer of cash plus Matteo Guendouzi for the 22-year-old midfielder.

The report claimed Arteta is believed to be a big admirer of the player’s talents, and it was director Edu who made the offer verbally over the telephone.

It is also claimed that Lyon rejected the offer as they only want cash for the player and do not feel that they need to add an additional midfielder.

Lyon update

Lyon sporting director Juninho confirmed after the club's Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich that there will be departures this summer.

"The aim now is to continue working, immediately with Ligue 1," Juninho, whose Lyon will not feature in the 2020-21 Champions League after finishing seventh at the time of Ligue 1 concluding due to the coronavirus pandemic, told RMC Sport.

"There are no presents. We will have to work. If we continue like this, we will be back in this competition. When you are well paid, you need motivation every day, we are going to concentrate on Ligue 1. There are the basics.

"There will be departures, but I am not worried. When you have players who play very well in a competition like this, like Moussa and Houssem...

"We will have to show the same spirit to be back in the Champions League next season."

What Guardiola previously said about Aouar

Speaking during the 2018/19 season, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola heaped praise on Aouar after his side drew 2-2 with Lyon in the group stages.

"Houssem Aouar is a very good player. He is incredible," Guardiola said.

"We talk a lot about (Tanguy) Ndombele, but Aouar is also excellent. He's always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality.

"Lyon really has a very good team. There are young people full of quality and I think the team is in place tactically.

"I think we can congratulate them, we have had absences tonight, but we have to congratulate them."

Arsenal face competition to seal transfer

If Arsenal are to stand any chance of landing Aouar this summer they are not only going to have to cut their cloth accordingly to raise the funds to get a deal over the line, but they will also have to fend off interest from Premier League rivals Manchester City.

It is reported by ESPN that the Etihad Stadium outfit are keen on landing the 22-year-old this summer, with Guardiola, as outlined above, being a big fan of him.

Should the two clubs get themselves into a battle to bring the Frenchman to the Premier League, they will have to match Lyon's valuation of €50million.

Aouar 'favours' Juventus

According to French outlet Le10 Sport, Aouar would prefer to join Juventus over any other team.

Juve have been credited with an interest in the player after seeing his talent first hand.

The midfielder was instrumental as the Ligue 1 side knocked the Italian champions out in the Champions League last-16.

Arsenal to make move

Arsenal are keen to add Aouar to their squad this summer, with Mikel Arteta and the club's board said to be 'in love' with the midfielder.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano, who was speaking on the Lee Gunner Youtube channel.

"I think it's difficult about Auoar, because we were talking about €50 million for Thomas Partey, if we're speaking about Aouar, we're around €60 or €70 million si I think it would be so difficult to take Aouar.

"The Arsenal board is in love with Aouar, Mikel Arteta is in love with Aouar, so for sure they will try."

Arsenal still pursuing transfer

Lyon have slapped a €60million price tag on Aouar this summer in an attempt to fend off interest, according to a report by Foot Mercato in France.

Arsenal, though, have not given up on the prospect of signing the midfielder despite Lyon's valuation, even though the Gunners have already seen a swap deal knocked back by Lyon.

The Gunners offered the Ligue 1 club Guendouzi as part of a deal to bring Aouar to the Premier League but that was swiftly rejected by last season's Champions League semi-finalists.

Aouar 'wants' Premier League move

Arsenal fans are desperate for the club to add the talented Lyon midfielder to the ranks ahead of the 2020/21 season.

With Fabrizio Romano tweeting that Leeds United are interested in signing Rodrigo de Paul from Udinese, one supporter quizzed the sports journalist if Aouar actually wants to move to the Premier League this summer.

Romano replied: "For sure he wants to move to EPL! But no one has offered €60m yet."

So, it seems that Arsenal could get their man if they offer Lyon the price they are after.

Manchester City are not exploring a move for Aouar

Manchester City will not be rivalling Arsenal for Aouar's signature this summer.

That is according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that City are not interested in signing the Frenchman this summer.

This news will be a welcome relief to the Gunners as it means they will have one less club to fend off interest from when trying to land the midfielder.

Arsenal 'discussions'

According to The Athletic, Arsenal are currently in 'discussions' to sign Aouar from Lyon.

The Gunners are thought to be on the verge of sealing another loan deal for Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid, but the report claims Mikel Arteta's side are still keen on landing other central midfielders - including Thomas Partey and Aouar.

Arsenal could fund any potential signings with the sale of Hector Bellerin, with Paris Saint-Germain keen to sign the full-back.

Lyon refuse to rule out sale

Juninho - the Lyon sporting director - has admitted that the French club are refusing to rule out the prospect of selling Aouar, as well as the likes of Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembele before the end of the transfer window, despite insisting that they do not intend to sell all three.

Aouar, just like Dembele and Depay, has been heavily linked with an exit from last season's Uefa Champions League semi-finalists, with all three players attracting interest from clubs across Europe.

Issuing an update, Juninho, as quoted by Goal, said: "It is not planned to sell Houssem, Memphis and Moussa at the same time.

“If that happened, we would look for players of the same level on the market.

“The departure of the three together is not planned. [But] they attract the market.

"There have been clubs in for Houssem for a long time. Moussa? He is a real goalscorer. There are not many options like him in the market.

"Memphis was unfortunately injured. We tried to extend his contract, the president did everything but he did not want to discuss during this period. In a year, he will be free.

“If we lose quality players, and three is almost impossible, [then] we already have names to replace them. Players of the same level.”

Arsenal hold talks with player's agent

Arsenal have held talks with Aouar's agent over a potential summer move to the Emirates Stadium, according to reports.

Fabrizio Romano, speaking on AFTV, claims that there has been contact between Arsenal and the player's agent, but talks with Lyon over a possible move are still at a very early stage.

The French club are said to be demanding a fee of at least £53 million for the midfielder.

It is also claimed by L'Equipe that Arsenal have seen a cash plus player offer rejected by Lyon, with the offered deal including Matteo Guendouzi going the other way.

Arsenal haven't made second bid

According to RMC, Arsenal have not made any further contact for Houssem Aouar since the initial offer of cash plus Matteo Guendouzi was rejected for Lyon.

The journalist claims Mikel Arteta is "in love" with Aouar's profile, and is intent on signing the midfielder this summer.

Arsenal had reportedly faced competition from Man City and Juventus for the Frenchman.

Man City U-turn

Pep Guardiola looks set to go head to head with Mikel Arteta for the £54m signing of Aouar.

According to the Mirror, Manchester City will enter the race and battle Arsenal for Lyon’s 22-year-old midfielder.

Guardiola is known to be an admirer of the France midfielder, having starred against City in the Champions League and helped Lyon to this season’s semi-finals.

Guendouzi swap deal rejected

Lyon sporting director Juninho has revealed Arteta’s interest in Aouar, but any talk of a swap deal with Matteo Guendouzi was quickly quashed.

“I get on very well with [Arsenal technical director] Edu, we spoke on the phone,” he said. “Aouar is really appreciated by Mikel Arteta.

“Guendouzi was discussed during the call, he is a great player, but he is the wrong profile.

“We are not interested in that at all, we cut the conversation.”

No offers

Juninho has since added that formal offers have not been tabled yet for the midfielder.

"For now, there is nothing for these players," he told Telefoot Chaine.

"We have not received anything for Houssem, we have not received anything for Memphis."

Personal terms agreed

Italian journalist Luca Fiorino is the latest in a line of reporters to claim personal terms between Arsenal and Aouar have already been agreed.

ll that remains is for a fee to be agreed between the two clubs.

Fiorino tweeted that Arsenal are set to return with a bid of €45million (£41.25million) next week.

Watch this space.