Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar has been a transfer target of Spurs‘ North London rivals Arsenal for a long time now, and despite the potential transfer at one point being seemingly wrapped up last summer, the Frenchman remained on the other side of the English Channel for the season.
However, despite Arsenal still remaining very interested in the playmaker, Fabio Paratici has sounded him out as a top target for Spurs as he looks for a creative central midfielder to line-up alongside Tanguy Ndombele and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
🗞[@MirrorFootball] | Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici wants to sign Houssem Aouar under the noses of Arsenal.
🎯Aouar contributed 8 goals and four assists last season and struck up a great partnership with Ndombele at Lyon.#THFC #COYSpic.twitter.com/JV2MIJkvLX
— Last Word On Spurs (@LastWordOnSpurs) June 27, 2021
The France international scored seven goals from the heart of midfield last season in the Ligue 1, despite just starting 23 times and making a further seven appearances from the bench.
He would also be reunited with his former teammate Ndombele who was signed by Spurs from Lyon back in 2019 while Mauricio Pochettino was in charge, and the idea of having the two form a partnership together once again is an exciting prospect.
https://twitter.com/thfcmitchell/status/1409102171237462016?s=20
While the French club are expected to be open to selling one of their most prized assets, who has just two years left on his contract, to raise funds to help recover from the financial result of the COVID-19 pandemic, they will face difficult negotiations with Lyon club president Jean-Michel Aulas.
“The departure of Houssem is not a wish of OL,” Aulas told press. “If he wishes to leave, we will try to accompany him, as we have done for many years.
“Afterwards, if the offers do not correspond to what we want, he will stay in Lyon and we will be very happy.”
Aouar’s creative ability in the final third would make him a vital cog in the next Spurs team under any manager, due to his incredible vision, composure and decision making.
His finishing skills will also be an added bonus to the team, with just six goals coming from the centre of midfield last season in total, one-less than what Aouar managed on his own last season.
It is crazy that you could get Dumfries, Sabitzer, and Aouar for a combined fee of roughly £70m this window. So many bargains we should look to take advantage of once we sort the manager out.
— Hotspur Edition (@HotspurEdition) June 27, 2021
Unfortunately, the addition of the 22-year-old would come at the cost of potentially letting Oliver Skipp go out on-loan again, something Spurs fans hope will not happen this season as they want to see the hot prospect grow and develop into an important first team player.