Lyon confirm Dembele offers but rule out January exit

Moussa Dembele has been the subject of transfer bids but the striker will not leave Lyon in January, according to president Jean-Michel Aulas.

Chelsea are reportedly interested in the 23-year-old, who has scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 this season in 18 appearances, as Frank Lampard seeks a new forward to take some of the pressure off Tammy Abraham.

It has been suggested the Premier League club could offer cash plus Olivier Giroud to tempt Lyon into a sale during the transfer window.

However, although he says offers have been made for some of Lyon’s top players, Aulas insists Dembele wants to stay at the club at least for now.

“Moussa Dembele will not leave because he wants to stay and win something with OL,” he said to reporters on Wednesday.

“There have been offers for him and for other players, but none of those whom we want to keep will leave in January.”

Indeed, Aulas says Lyon’s primary objective is to strengthen their squad and mount a challenge for the Champions League places, given they are 12th in the table after 19 matches.

“We’ll try to make ourselves stronger,” he said. “The first reaction was to get the youngsters in the academy to play more and show themselves more. The second is to recruit.

“The board of directors have decided to do that, but not at any cost and not in just any situation. We’ll only carry out plans that correspond to what the sporting director, the advisers and the coach want.”