Arsenal and Liverpool make contact over £51.5m star wanted by PL rivals

Arsenal and Liverpool are both in the market for new attackers this summer and they are among a cluster of teams who admire Lyon's breakthrough star Malick Fofana

Lyon have slapped a €60million (£51.5m) price tag on the head of Malick Fofana in the wake of interest from a number of Premier League clubs in the talented winger.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool are understood to be in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer, with the former actively searching for a quality left-sided forward to add further depth to their frontline after missing out on the title again.

Fofana, 20, has won himself a slew of admirers across Europe after a stellar breakthrough campaign for Lyon, whose financial difficulties have been well documented in recent weeks.

And it has now been claimed that Lyon would demand at least £51.5m to cash in on the highly sought-after Belgium international.

The Independent outline that an auction could break out, though, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all keen on the winger.

Fulham and Nottingham Forest, like their domestic rivals, are also 'in contact' with Lyon over the conditions of any deal, while Bayern Munich, Napoli and RB Leipzig are also keen on Fofana.

While Lyon would like to demand top-level money for a talented player who scored 11 goals in 41 games last term, their current plight could influence proceedings.

They have been demoted from Ligue 1 and while they are expected to appeal the decision, losing their top-flight status - and their place in next season's Europa League - would likely lead to further financial concerns which could see rival clubs bid to take advantage of their plight.

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It emerged earlier this week that there was strong interest from Fofana in the Premier League with reports in Europe claiming that Nottingham Forest had agreed a deal with Lyon for the player's services.

That has since been downplayed, though, with Footmercato claiming the player is still 'a long way' from joining Forest. Chelsea are known to have previously made an approach for Fofana.

Lyon signed Fofana for just €19.5m (£16.6m) from Gent in January 2024. He is contracted until the summer of 2028 meaning Lyon would not be under pressure to sell were it not for the circumstances surrounding their demotion from France's top league.