Alexandre Lacazette is a name that has been on everyone's lips this season. The Lyon man has been scoring for fun this year and has catapulted Lyon to the top of the table.
With a goal scoring record only behind Messi and Ronaldo this season, it's easy to see why many English teams want his signature. The Frenchman has been in Lyon his whole career and to date, has collected nearly 130 league appearances to date. His first one was back in May 2010 against Auxerre when he came on for the last 12 minutes of the league game.
He spent the first few years of his career as a rotation option, before he broke into the first team in the 2011/2012 season, contributing 10 goals and 7 assists in 43 matches. He was beginning to lay stamp down his first team slot. 2012/2013 was a similar story, however he was yet to find the goal scoring prowess that we associate with him this season.
We witnessed him score a bounty of goals in all competitions last year, 22 in 54 to be exact, but this is nothing compared to what he has scored already this season with just under half of Ligue 1 to be played. 21 goals in 22 games is an astounding record, which asks the question how long will Lyon be able to hold onto him for?
The 23 year old has a playing style similar to Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal. His preferred position is striker, but he can also play on either flank or even as a second striker. His electric pace and acceleration has tortured French defences this year in the league, and I'm sure they will be glad if he leaves in January.
Ironically, Arsenal have expressed their interest in his capture, along with Liverpool. With Arsenal having Sanchez, Theo Walcott and The Ox, they are no short of competition for the wide positions. Up top, Giroud has been doing ok this season and Welbeck has been Mr Inconsistent as always. It seems that Lacazette would be likely to play up front in order to give Arsenal another option, however I see other areas that would benefit more than in the attacking third.
Liverpool on the other hand may be a good place to go. With Mario Balotelli looking lost in Merseyside, Sturridge injury prone and Rickie Lambert not scoring, Lacazette could be the answer to Brendan Rodgers' problems. In addition, he could adapt to playing behind Sturridge or another striker in order to give Raheem Sterling a rest. I believe that Liverpool would be a good place for him.
There is no doubt that he can score goals. The next superstar to come out of the Lyon youth set up has come along way and his hard work is paying off. With Lyon sitting pretty in 1st position, I wouldn't be surprised if the transfer goes through in the summer particularly as he has picked up a hamstring that will keep him out for 3 weeks.
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