Lille have been ordered to pay Sporting Lisbon €20million( £17million) by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a decision that could help Arsenal land two transfer targets.
The Ligue 1 side were told they must settle their dispute over the transfer of AC Milan youngster Rafael Leao, who left Sporting Lisbon for the French outfit back in the summer of 2018.
According to Record via La Gazzetta dello Sport, AC Milan youngster Leao was told to pay Sporting €16.5m( £13.3m) by CAS just under two years ago before contesting the ruling.
Now, the fee has been increased to €20m following inflation, with Lille now ordered to pay.
The decision could have a knock-on effect for the Gunners, who have been linked with two players currently plying their trade at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in the form of Renato Sanches and Jonathan David, who are currently valued by Transfermarkt at £27million and £45million, respectively.
Sanches is into the final 17 months of his contract with the reigning Ligue 1 champions and he has previously refused to dismiss the notion that the north London club are keen on his services.
"Maybe Milan and Arsenal are interested but I don’t know," said Sanches last year. "I spoke with my agent, I know which clubs are calling me but I can’t say right now.
"But I know I’m ready. If an offer comes in, I’ll find out what’s best for me."
Similarly, football.london understands that David is one centre-forward option that Arsenal are considering ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Gunners are keen to add a prolific frontman after allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave the club last month and the Canadian international fits the bill, given he has netted 12 league goals this term in a Lille team that has struggled to defend their title after their head coach and a number of their leading players left over the summer.
"I'm under contract at LOSC [Lille] ", he recently told Jeunes Footeux.
"The most important thing for me is to finish the season as well as possible.
"What happens after that, we will see. The Premier League attracts everyone. It is the most competitive league in the world. It is a really good league."
Arsenal technical director Edu may even need to sign two forwards this summer, given that Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are both into the final five months of their contracts with the club.
