That Alexandre Lacazette is likely to leave Lyon in the summer isn’t really a secret anymore, to the point where most media outlets in France are trying to work out who will replace him at the Ligue 1 side.
Le Foot in France reported a couple of weeks ago that Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi could be one of the targeted forwards, which we questioned, and now La Gazette des Transferts add another name to the mix this week.
The French magazine claim that as well as Batshuayi, Lyon are considering making a move for Manchester City’s Wilfried Bony, currently at Stoke City on loan.
The Ivory Coast international is having a rather disastrous season at the bet365 Stadium, scoring just two goals in 11 appearances for the club’s first-team, and there is very little chance of him being there next year.
La Gazette claim that Manchester City would be prepared to sell the 28-year-old for €25m in the summer, certainly an affordable fee for Lyon were they to get €60m or so for Lacazette, which means they are willing to make a loss on the striker.
While this sounds good on paper, Wilfried Bony to Lyon doesn’t make a lot of sense logistically.
Bruno Génésio enjoys having some fluidity to his attack, with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Memphis Depay, Mathieu Valbuena, Maxwel Cornet or Nabil Fékir all capable of interchanging positions in attack.
Having someone less mobile and unlikely to try and take people on in there, like Wilfried Bony, would go against what the manager is trying to do with his team.
Furthermore, with someone like Nabil Fékir eager to play more centrally rather than on the wing, Génésio already has someone ready to step in for a departing Lacazette next season.
Were this to happen, it certainly would be a shock, one we feel we are very unlikely to witness.
Then again, few believed Donald Trump had a chance of becoming the 45th President of the United States at first.
