Coach confirms Arsenal and Man Utd £42m striker target will stay put

Liverpool are still interested in a deal for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette for €30.5 million (£21.7m) this summer despite already signing Christian Benteke, as per unexpected reports ran by Metro.

Lyon manager Hubert Fournier has warned clubs off Alexandre Lacazette by insisting that the striker will not be going anywhere this summer.

Another club reportedly showing an interest is Arsenal, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger able to take a closer look at the 24-year-old when his team face Lyon in the Emirates Cup pre-season tournament on Saturday.

The French worldwide was in stellar form at the Stade de Gerland last year, finishing ahead of Marseille’s Andre-Pierre Gignac and Paris Saint-Germain vice-captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the top scorer in Ligue 1 with 27 goals in just 33 starts.

“I haven’t got much to say. He has said he wants to stay with us”, the coach is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard.

The Parisian giants ended up beating Lyon to the Ligue 1 crown with a couple of weeks of the season left to go but Lacazette’s performances attracted European-wide interest in his services.

“Clearly clubs are attracted by a player of his quality, but he is contracted to Lyon and, with all the competitions we’re in, we obviously want to keep him”.

When asked where Lacazette will be playing, Fournier said: “Olympique Lyonnais”.