Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed that the Ligue One side have yet to receive an official proposal for midfielder Houssem Aouar.

The Frenchman is reportedly on Manchester City’s radar, while there have been reports of interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in recent months.

Asked about Aouar’s situation, Aulas said that although there are teams interested, there had been no new developments. He also confirmed that they would listen to offers if they were made but they would be more than happy to keep the 21-year-old:

“For the moment, we’ve not had any proposals or even a request for any information on him, but I know that many clubs could be interested in him. In any case, our preference is to keep him and we will do everything to achieve that.”

“The second option is that it’s up to him where he wants to play. When players have left in the past, we’ve always favoured the place and the club where they wanted to go.”

Whether Aulas is bluffing or not, in terms of wanting to keep the player, it remains to be seen. There have been claims in France that Lyon will need to sell at least two star players in order to balance the books.

The French club have failed to qualify for Europe, but they are still said to be holding out for sizeable sums for their players, despite the financial impact of the global health crisis. Some reports suggest they would want as much as €50m (£45m) for Aouar.