Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette is reportedly moving up the pecking order as Juventus look to sign a forward this summer to bolster their firepower.
The Bianconeri secured a ninth consecutive Serie A title this past season, but they fell short in the Coppa Italia and Champions League once again and that in turn led to the decision to sack Maurizio Sarri.
In comes Andrea Pirlo in his first coaching role, and the Turin giants will no doubt look to try and bring in reinforcements to give him a boost ahead of his debut campaign in charge.
Among their targets is Lacazette, and as per Tuttomercatoweb, it’s suggested that the Frenchman has now surpassed the likes of Raul Jimenez, Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Morata and Duvan Zapata and is now near the top of their transfer shortlist along with Arkadiusz Milik as Juventus look to bring in a new striker to potentially replace Gonzalo Higuain.
That will be a concern for Arsenal if their interest does become more serious as Mikel Arteta may well want to keep hold of him to continue to play a key role at the Emirates, but they will seemingly have their resolve tested this summer as Juve weigh up their options.
Lacazette, 29, bagged 10 goals in 30 Premier League games last season, but while it was perhaps an underwhelming year for him, he still possesses great quality and could be an important addition for Juventus given he could be an ideal replacement for Higuain to lead the line and offer pace and movement to complement what the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala offer.
As for Arsenal and Arteta, with question marks hanging over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future too as he heads into the final year of his current contract, losing Lacazette could be a sacrifice they must make to keep their talisman and strengthen elsewhere.