Back in the 2020 close-season, Houssem Aouar's move to the Premier League looked like a case of when rather than if.
The French playmaker had thrived for Lyon as Rudi Garcia's side reached the last four of the Champions League, earning a senior international call-up in the process. Arsenal were keen, with a £55m fee touted and Aouar himself reportedly agitating for a move.
In the end, though, nothing materialised, despite the Gunners' efforts to include Matteo Guendouzi as part of a deal. However, rather than finding another destination, Aouar remained at the Stade de Lyon while his team came back down to earth. Two years on from that first saga, Mirror Football looks at what went wrong for the 24-year-old and what needs to come next.
Aouar might have only scored once during that Champions League run, but he played a part in the quarter-final victory over Manchester City. With the scores level, his ball from deep set Moussa Dembele through to put L'OL ahead, and he later had a hand in the third when Ederson spilled his shot into the path of the striker.
A number of members of that Lyon squad moved on in 2020, with Joachim Andersen and Bertrand Traore moving to England. However, Aouar stayed put, and 12 months later the asking price had halved.
Arsenal were linked once more in 2021, with the reduced fee potentially offering some enticement. A player in his mould soon became less of a priority, though, thanks to Mikel Arteta's team wrapping up a permanent deal for Martin Odegaard.
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In the intervening time, things haven't gone entirely swimmingly for the youngster. He earned his first France cap in October 2020, but the following month he was in trouble with club coach Garcia for refusing to warm down with his fellow substitutes after a Ligue 1 game against Angers.
“I’m only going to say this once. It was logical to give him a sanction,” Garcia said at the time, as reported by Goal. “I suggested some myself. The club decided to remove Houssem from the squad for Sunday’s match.
"So we’ll play it with the squad at my disposal and of course I respect the decision of the club. My opinion is that this kind of case should be resolved internally.”
Aouar was reintegrated into Garcia's side after that episode, but a return to Didier Deschamps' Bleus squad would not follow, with Deschamps claiming in November 2020 that fellow playmaker Nabil Fekir offered him "more guarantees". Indeed, when the senior side were flattering to deceive at the European Championships, he was playing for the under-21s as they were eliminated from their equivalent tournament by the Netherlands.
He was one of the older members of that squad, and older than two of the members of Deschamps senior Euros squad. His omission from the latter wasn't the end of the world, of course, but he would have hoped for better when preparing himself for the 2020-21 campaign.
By this point, Peter Bosz had replaced Garcia in the dugout and was ready to let Aouar leave for the right price. An exit didn't materialise and, when Xherdan Shaqiri arrived from Liverpool, there were questions over just how much the Lyon-born playmaker would feature.
The 2021-22 campaign was a difficult one for Lyon, who lost more players as belts were tightened financially. However, Aouar contributed to some of the club's better moments, helping Bosz' team reach the last eight of the Europa League despite their slump to a mid-table finish in the league.
With one year left on his contract, this could be the summer that Lyon are finally able to cash in. However, the fee will be substantially less than what they were asking for back in 2020, while new clubs have reportedly entered the fray.
Leicester City have made contact, according to L'Equipe (via Get French Football News ), while Europa Conference League holders Roma have also been mentioned in French media as a potential destination.
Meanwhile, the make-up of the French senior side shows that there are opportunities for youngsters - just not for him. Midfield trio Guendouzi, Aurelien Tchouameni and Boubacar Kamara are all younger than Aouar and all made the cut for the recent Nations League games, while forwards Kylian Mbappe and Moussa Diaby are also a few months his junior.
At 24 years of age, Aouar still has time on his side as he looks to hit the heights once predicted for him. However, there is a sense that he can't afford to get things wrong when he takes the next step in his career.
