Lacazette´s Atletico move is off and there are no other offers – Aulas

Alexandre Lacazette’s proposed move to Atletico Madrid is off, according to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

Lacazette announced last month he would be leaving Lyon and Aulas confirmed an agreement with Atletico had been reached.

However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to uphold a transfer ban imposed on the Madrid club by FIFA which makes them unable to register new players until January cast doubt on a possible switch.

The 26-year-old forward – who has also been linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund – insisted he would still be open to the move, but Aulas revealed on Friday it had fallen through and he would be remaining at Lyon.

“Alexandre could leave the club but things went wrong with Atletico. For us, he is with Lyon,” Aulas said at the presentation of new left-back Fernando Marcal, signed for €4.5million on Thursday.

“Today, I haven’t got any other offers for Alexandre Lacazette. I don’t know if he wants to leave.”

With uncertainty surrounding Lacazette’s future, Chelsea forward Bertrand Traore, who spent last season on loan at Ajax, is being targeted.

“We want to bring in Bertrand Traore. There are advanced talks but many clubs are interested in him,” said Aulas.

Lyon sold Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich for an initial €41.5m on Wednesday and Rachid Ghezzal is set to leave for AC Milan.

A replacement for Ghezzal is a primary objective for Aulas, who also wants to strengthen in defence.

“We will sign another player to replace Rachid Ghezzal,” he said. “We will make an analysis and we really want to be stronger in defence. On the right side but also at centre-back. “