Alexandre Lacazette has rejected claims that he has had a bust-up with Lyon boss Peter Bosz after returning to the Ligue 1 club.
The striker left Arsenal at the end of last season after five years with the Premier League side. He quickly sealed a free transfer to Lyon, who he played for before his big-money move to the Gunners in the 2017 summer transfer window.
It has been a slightly bizarre start to his second spell at the Groupama Stadium, with a wasp attack almost ruling him out of a pre-season game. He recovered to score a screamer in a win over Dutch side Feyenoord on Sunday.
His return to Lyon has now taken yet another strange twist, with reports in France suggesting a rift has emerged between Lacazette and his new boss Bosz. According to Foot Mercato, a disagreement took place in the Lyon dressing room at half-time, just after Lacazette had scored his stunning opening goal.
It is stated that that disagreement was down to tactics, with Lacazette having ignored Bosz's instructions to take up a particular place on the pitch. While it was not an 'exaggerated' argument', it was also not insignificant.
Lacazette's apparent disagreement is the latest part of what has been an upset camp at Lyon in recent weeks. Players have not been understanding the Dutchman's instructions or game plans, with the win over Feyenoord coming after two successive defeats.
It appears though that the report is inaccurate, with Lacazette reacting with surprise to it on social media. Replying to a post publishing the news, the Frenchman wrote "Waaaaaaaw" along with the blushing emoji and three Pinocchio emojis.
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Bosz has already been left fuming by his team this pre-season, after they were hammered by Dutch minnows Willem II. That led to the Lyon boss blasting his squad for their poor performance, hinting at rifts in the dressing room.
“You can’t lose 5-0 against a team like Willem II, but this defeat is deserved. We were very bad, we played badly. Today, the objective was to play the 90 minutes, but when you are already losing 3-0 at half-time, you need to have some pride to push and get back into it in the second half," he told OLTV.
"That was not the case. It was an issue of desire and state of mind. Today, Willem II’s players really wanted to win. Tomorrow, we will see a different Olympique Lyonnais to the one we saw today.”
He will hope that the talk of a disagreement between himself and Lacazette has been blown out of proportion as the striker said. Lacazette took a pay cut to return to the club, following their lowly finish in Ligue 1 last term, with the Frenchman setting out his desire to turn things around.
“My love for the club was enough to take it (the pay cut). The project is also very important for me. It was a decision I took with those close to me and in the end, I’m happy. It is moving to rediscover this stadium. I can’t wait to wear the shirt," he said.
“I took my time making my decision to return. Football is a beautiful job. It was difficult to follow Lyon from a distance last season and not be able to help them. I hope that this period is over, and we can re-find a strong Lyon. The objective is certainly to help the club get back to the top and achieve a European qualification.”
