Lyon have claimed that two Premier League clubs made offers of €55million – or almost £50m – for Alexandre Lacazette this summer.
Lacazette was wanted by a number of leading clubs throughout Europe after ending the 2015/16 season __with 23 goals from 44 games.
The forward has scored 76 goals in 138 games across all competitions over the past three seasons in France, and was subject to a number of offers in the summer.
Arsenal were revealed to have had a bid of £29m rejected, and it was then claimed by manager Bruno Genesio that a further £10m could land the Frenchman.
Club president Jean-Michel Aulas then revealed later that summer that West Ham had failed __with an offer equating to £42.7m.
Lacazette remained with the club despite intense interest, and has scored six goals in five Ligue Un games so far.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Tuttosport, Aulas has again discussed how close Lacazette came to leaving, but the supposed offer has increased once more.
He said: “This summer, we rejected €55m (£49.7m) for Lacazette from two Premier League clubs and €37m from Napoli for Tolisso.”