Alexandre Lacazette has confirmed that he will leave Lyon this summer and is prioritising a move to Atletico Madrid, according to L’Equipe.
Atleti have been linked with Lacazette since last summer, and the prolific striker believes the time has come for him to “answer the questions that people are asking of me” on a bigger stage.
“I think it’s the right time [to leave],” he told the French publication.
“I want to discover something else, challenge myself and go up a level.
“It’s all very well to say that I’ve scored goals [in France], but I know very well that on a European scale, I’m not that recognised yet.
“I want to see if I can answer the questions that people are asking of me and progress further.
“It’s important that the club that picked me up at the age of 10 can recoup [enough] money after everything that we’ve experienced together.”
However, Los Colchoneros will not be able to sign anyone until January 2018 if their appeal for a FIFA-imposed transfer ban is rejected, with a decision expected at the end of this month.
Nonetheless, Antoine Griezmann recently said of his countryman: “I’m not going to be objective about Alex because he’s a very good friend of mine.
“I’d love to play with him because he’s a player who likes to play with his teammates.”
