Monaco will listen to offers starting at £62m for Thomas Lemar as Arsenal and Liverpool circle

Monaco will listen to offers starting at €70m (£62m, $84m) for Thomas Lemar in January with Arsenal ready to make a bid should Alexis Sanchez complete his proposed move to Manchester City, according to reports in France.

City are understood to have tabled a second offer for Sanchez worth £20m after summer move for the forward fall through at the eleventh hour. During that frantic final day of the summer transfer window, Arsenal had a £90m bid for Lemar accepted by Monaco as they lined up the France international as a direct replacement for the departing Sanchez, only to fail to get the deal done in time.

Arsenal's interest in Lemar has remained since then. While Monaco have previously insisted they are firmly against selling their best players during the mid-season window, reports have suggested that stance has changed, with manager Leonardo Jardim appearing to confirm those suggestions.

With pressure from City building, Arsenal are now fully prepared to turn to Lemar should Sanchez leave this winter, RMC Sport report. Crucially, the Gunners may even end up paying less than they were prepared to offer last summer with a report from the French outlet suggesting a deal for the France international is expected to be at a minimum of €70m.

Liverpool, another club to have bid for Lemar last summer, have also been heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old, speculation heightened by confirmation of Philippe Coutinho's £142m move to Barcelona.

RMC Sport claim that Jurgen Klopp's side are continuing to monitor the situation.

Lemar struck 14 goals and provided 17 assists to help fire Monaco to the Ligue 1 title last season with the club also reaching the semi-final stages of the Champions League. But following a summer where he almost left the club he has struggled to replicate that form with his return falling to just three goals and four assists at the half-way point in the 2017-18 season.

"We are not used to selling in the winter," Monaco Jardim said in a press conference earlier this week. "But the transfer window lasts until the end of the month and many things can happen."