Lyon president confirms bids for Arsenal and Newcastle transfer target Paqueta

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed bids have come in for Lucas Paqueta with the Brazil international targeted by Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Newcastle United.

Paqueta, who joined the French club from AC Milan in a €20m (£17m) deal back in 2020, ended last season with nine goals and five assists in Ligue 1. However, with Lyon finishing down in eighth, the 24-year-old has been linked with a summer exit.

Lyon have already lost a handful of players, with former Manchester City defender Jason Denayer among those to leave the club. And with Aulas providing his latest update, Paqueta could end up generating some revenue for L'OL after a challenging season.

"There are proposals for him," Aulas told reporters when quizzed on the forward (via Goal ). However, he did not go into further detail regarding which of the interested parties have been in touch with an offer.

"There are certain players who can feel complete in the project, and others who don't. Economically, we have the means to pursue our ideas and objectives."

"The coach gave us his opinion and there is also what the players wants to do," Aulas added. Former Ajax manager Peter Bosz has been in charge at Lyon since 2021, leading them to the quarter-finals of last season's Europa League, and the Dutch boss has already added to his squad in advance of the new season.

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Lyon have already added to their squad over the summer, with Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso both returning after spells with Arsenal and Bayern Munich respectively. CBS Sports reported earlier this month that Miralem Pjanic could also return, with the midfielder having spent last season on loan at Besiktas from Barcelona.

Lacazette was on target as the French outfit beat Bourg-en-Bresse in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. Houssem Aouar, Moussa Dembele and Irvyn Lomami were also on target during a 4-2 victory, with Paqueta playing the second half of the game.

The biggest stumbling block for the two English sides could be the price tag for the Brazil star, who has seven goals from 33 international caps. Aulas had reportedly been after a fee of around £68m for Paqueta, though more recent reports from CBS Sports put the asking price closer to £56m.

Both Arsenal and Newcastle have done business with Lyon in the recent past, with differing results. The Gunners paid what was then a club record fee to bring Lacazette to north London in 2017 only to lose him for nothing this summer, while Newcastle broke their own record in January to recruit Paqueta's international teammate and former club colleague Bruno Guimaraes.