Monaco to Up Their Asking Price for Thomas Lemar in Attempt to Dissuade Gunners

Monaco have changed their original valuation for Thomas Lemar in the wake of the mass exodus at the club.

According to the Daily Star, Arsenal will have to fork out a cool £55m in order to acquire the services of Lemar this summer.

This marks a real blow for Arsene Wenger who had made the 21-year-old his main target this summer.

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Originally the Arsenal boss thought he could land the winger for a fee in the region of £25m but it now looks like Arsenal will have to pay way over £50m.

Monaco Vice president Vadim Vasilyev is determined not to see his whole title-winning squad wiped out and has dramatically upped the players' prices in the hope that it will put the clubs off.

This summer has already seen the departure of two of their stars from last season. Bernardo Silva has joined Manchester City, whilst defensive midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has joined Chelsea.

Benjamin Mendy is expected to follow Monaco team-mate Bernardo Silva in joining Manchester City. Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, is wanted by Real Madrid while Fabinho too has been linked with a move away.

The huge asking price for Lemar could ensure that Wenger pursues other targets this summer; Riyad Mahrez is still high on the summer wish list. The 26-year-old has rejected a move to Italy with Roma interested and is holding out for Arsenal to secure his dream move to the Emirates.