Chelsea given transfer boost in pursuit of £90m rated French speedster

Monaco’s are “open” to selling Thomas Lemar for £90m his month, according to the Mirror.

The French international is a target for Chelsea, the Evening Standard believes, but they will likely face competition from the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool’s for the pacey winger’s signature.

Monaco reportedly accepted a €100m (£88m) offer from the Gunners back in August, only for the deal to collapse on deadline day. It looks as though this will be the minimum acceptable amount for negotiations to begin for Lemar this month.

There is still doubt over whether the Ligue One side will be open to any talk of a sale in January. Last week, manager Leonardo Jardim suggested that Monaco did not want to sell any players during the current window,  but has since softened his stance slightly by stating that “many things could happen” this month.

Whether that is tantamount to Monaco being open to negotiations like the Mirror indicates, it is debatable, but it will be interesting to see what happens if Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal test the waters with a bid in the next few weeks.