Arsenal urged to complete late deal for Vinicius Jr alternative who rejected Premier League rivals

Lyon forward Malick Fofana has been offered to Arsenal, talkSPORT understands.

The Belgium international previously rejected a move to Hull City earlier in the summer.

Getty

Roma and RB Leipzig have also been credited with interest in Fofana.

However, he could now complete a late switch to the Premier League champions.

The Gunners have until the window closes at 11pm on Tuesday to conclude their transfer business.

Having missed out on the signing of Vinicius Jr, adding another wide attacker remains under consideration.

Fofana’s Lyon future is up in the air after the Ligue 1 side missed out on a place in the league phase of the Champions League.

They were beaten by Turkish giants Fenerbahce last week, causing them to drop into the Europa League.

The 21-year-old’s current Lyon deal expires at the end of next season.

Since joining the club from Gent in 2024, he has scored 19 goals and added eight assists in 84 appearances across all competitions.

talkSPORT verdict

European football journalist Andy Brassell has tipped Fofana to be a success if he were to move to the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, he explained: “Straight off, ever since Lyon have been eliminated from the Champions League play-offs, they’ve had a lot of players on the block.

AFP

“They are not just willing to sell, they need to sell, and they need to make around €50million, before the window shuts.

“The quickest way of doing that, because they have at least one more definitely out already, is Malick Fofana.

“Obviously, he’s been linked with a lot of different teams so far. Hull City made an approach and rejected that pretty much out of hand, slightly more politely perhaps.

“Linked to Roma for a number of weeks, seems like Leipzig might be in and there’s even been talk in France that he’s been offered to Arsenal.

“Now, even though he’s not Vinicius Jr, clearly, I think him being offered to Arsenal is really interesting because he is a player exactly in the spot where they want a player.

“His ceiling is very, very high. He missed most of last season because of a really bad ankle injury that he received in the game against Strasbourg.

Getty

“He still had some pain when he came back, so it took a while for him to get that sorted out and since he has got that sorted out, he’s been really good in the early part of this season for Lyon when he has played.

“I think he can add more goals to his game as well. He’s got speed and he’s really good at bringing the ball up the pitch quickly.

“I think he was clocked the season before the one he was injured in as the fastest player in Ligue 1. So, I think that’s an interesting one for sure.”

Arsenal have already spent over £200million on four new signings following their Premier League triumph last term.

Mikel Arteta’s side ended their 22-year wait for a 14th league title victory.

They have since added Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis to their ranks.

Meanwhile, Pieor Hincapie’s loan from Bayer Leverkusen has been made permanent for £45million.

Several exits could still be finalised before the window closes, though, with deals involving Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus in the works.