Monaco Manager Claims Club May Not Be Able to Say 'No' to Thomas Lemar Offer
Liverpool and Arsenal appear to have been given a boost in their January pursuit of AS Monaco star Thomas Lemar as the club's manager Leonardo Jardim has admitted the Ligue 1 club could lose the fight to keep hold of the 22-year-old this month.
Lemar has been at the center of a transfer tussle between the two Premier League clubs since the summer, with the Gunners' deal on deadline day falling through before the Reds failed to agree to terms for the player.
In a press conference on Thursday, Jardim was asked about Lemar's future and he said, via Get Football News France: “Today, the market is open. You know how crazy the market is. Things happen that even a club like Monaco cannot say no to. It happened to Liverpool [with Coutinho].
"Things are as they are. The numbers today are incredibly big. Everything can change. The things I can say today are not true tomorrow. In the last two transfer windows, last summer and this winter, the numbers have gone up enormously.
"I still want to keep Lemar. If I stay here for 10 years I want Lemar to stay with me for 10 years. He is young, he can still play for 10 years. He has a lot of qualities, I like him a lot.”
The Gunners have recently been linked with Brazilian winger Malcom as the likely sale of Alexis Sanchez has shifted their focus from Lemar, who is said to prefer a move to Anfield.
While the sale of Philippe Coutinho for a British record £142m has ensured Liverpool remain in the market for an attacker and they are likely to have been buoyed from the statements made by the Monaco boss.
The France international has scored just three goals this season in 20 appearances, a stark contrast to the 11 goals and 14 assists he accumulated in a breakthrough campaign last season.
