Lacazette rubbishes Atletico Madrid speculations

Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette has rubbished the growing speculations linking him with a move to Atletico Madrid.

Lacazette has long been featuring on Atletico Madrid’s shopping list close to the top. Diego Simeone is a long-term admirer of the French forward and wants him at the Wanda Metropolitano.

After Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata both failed to deliver consistency last season, a need for a reliable central forward has been created.

Although Simeone hopes to lure Lacazette to Madrid, he will have to exploit other options. At least that’s what the 29-year-old suggests.

While discussing the prospect of joining the Spanish heavyweights, the former Lyon star opted to distance himself from the speculations.

“Every summer, I hear these rumors linking me with Atletico Madrid.

“It’s boring, but you do learn things sometimes,” he added, according to Spanish outlet Marca.

“For example, I read, from someone who clearly knows more than me, that I had called Antoine Griezmann to speak about the club.”

Lacazette endured an underwhelming season by his standards. A tally of just 12 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions saw the Frenchman surrender his first-team spot to Eddie Nketiah.

As a consequence, Mikel Arteta had thought about including Lacazette as part of a deal to bring in Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid.

But, recent reports suggest the Spanish manager has abandoned that idea. Instead, he will look to re-establish the France international in his starting line-up.