On Tuesday, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed that Tanguy Ndombele has asked to leave the club in the summer transfer window.
The midfielder’s performance for the Ligue 1 side in the 2018/19 season has seen him draw attention from several clubs across Europe, including the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Spanish newspaper AS now claims Aulas’ latest comments suggest there could be an auction for the 22-year-old, with Los Blancos lurking in the background.
The France international is liked by Zinedine Zidane, and the 13-time European champions consider his signing to be more economical when compared to Manchester United’s Paul Pogba or Christian Eriksen of Spurs.
Lyon, for their part, have already rejected offers of around €50m for the star and are demanding a fee close to €100m, which includes a fixed amount of around €70-75m.
Ndombele is in the orbit of Real Madrid, but Zidane’s side ‘won’t have anything easy’ in signing him because of the competition from the Champions League finalists and others.
AS’s report states Mauricio Pochettino wants the player and apart from Tottenham, there is no suggestion of other clubs being serious in their approach for Ndombele.
Therefore, the north London club provide the most competition for Real Madrid in the race for the Frenchman.