Dmitry Cheltsov, a specialist agent in the French transfer market, has revealed that he offered Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette to Zenit Saint Petersburg this summer.
The French striker, who has missed the Gunners’ last seven games with an ankle problem, was reportedly offered to the Russian giants before they signed Malcom from Barcelona.
Talking to Sport Business Gazeta, cited by Sports Witness, Cheltsov explained that he offered the forward’s services before Zenit sporting director Javier Ribalta revealed that the 28-year-old has a release clause set at €68 million.
I offered Alexandre Lacazette to Zenit. Their sporting director Javier Ribalta said to me: ‘Are you crazy? His release clause is €68m.’
I told him you can negotiate with Arsenal. I am sure they will be ready to accept something between €50m and €55m. His salary would be €7-8m after tax.
But is there any truth in Ribalta’s release clause claims?
Read Arsenal verdict
Lacazette was linked with a bizarre move to Barcelona earlier in the year, but the news regarding a switch to Zenit has certainly caught us all off guard.
The striker made the move to the Emirates back in 2017 for a then club-record fee of £46.5 million, and there has been no mention of a release clause inserted into his contract during his 27-month stay in north London.
A reported €68 million release clause seems fairly low, especially in today’s market, so we wouldn’t be surprised if those claims turned out to be false.
The forward is under contract until 2022 at the Emirates, and with the player seemingly settled in the Premier League, it would take a lot more than €68 million (if the release clause claims are fake) for the Gunners to consider parting ways with the fan favourite over the next 12 months.
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