West Ham have admitted defeat and pulled out of the race to sign French striker Alexandre Lacazette after failing to agree a transfer fee with Olympique Lyonnais.
Lyon rejected a £32million bid from West Ham just last week and many expected the Hammers to follow up with an improved offer, but the Daily Mail claim they have withdrawn from the race.
It is thought that Lyon’s £40million price tag was too high and West Ham will now pursue cheaper targets, with Marseille’s Michy Batshuayi likely to be high priority.
Lacazette could still secure his move away from Parc Olympique Lyonnais with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly interested. The Ligue 1 champions would certainly have no problem matching Lyon’s asking price and are actively searching for a striker to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who recently joined Manchester United on a free transfer.
Last season, Lacazette netted 23 times – including two in the Champions League – in 44 appearances for Lyon. Despite his impressive goalscoring form, he was overlooked by Didier Deschamps when naming his 23-man squad for the European Championships.
