{"id":549164,"date":"2020-04-10T04:57:55","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T08:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=549164"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:50:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:50:47","slug":"report-real-madrid-leading-the-race-for-houssem-aouar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/04\/10\/report-real-madrid-leading-the-race-for-houssem-aouar\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Real Madrid Leading the Race for Houssem Aouar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid<\/a> and Arsenal<\/a> want to sign\u00a0midfielder Houssem Aouar<\/a> from Ligue 1 side Lyon this summer, according to The Sun.<\/a><\/p>\n

The highly-rated 21-year-old has earned plaudits from top players and managers which created interest in the player from across Europe.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid Leading the Race for Houssem Aouar<\/h2>\n

Hot-Prospect Aouar<\/h3>\n

Aouar has played 37 games for Lyon this season in all competitions and impressed on a number of occasions, scoring nine goals and making seven assists.<\/p>\n

The French youth international was given the captain’s armband for six matches before the season was suspended in March.<\/p>\n

A number of clubs remain interested in signing the youngster, who is reportedly valued at around \u00a365 million.<\/p>\n

Aouar is one of Arsenal’s and Madrid’s top targets. However, Chelsea<\/a>, Liverpool<\/a>, Paris-Saint Germain<\/a>, Manchester City<\/a> and Juventus<\/a> want the talented midfielder this summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite his young age, Aouar already played 145 games for Lyon after making his first-team debut in 2017.<\/p>\n

Pep Guardiola and Karim Benzema Full of Praise<\/h3>\n

Pep Guardiola and Karim Benzema have praised the 21-year-old recently. Both were extremely positive about the Frenchman’s flourishing talent.<\/p>\n

After watching him play against City last season, Guardiola said of the midfielder<\/a>: “Houssem is a very good player. He is incredible.<\/p>\n

“He is always very calm with the ball at his feet, with excellent technical quality.”<\/p>\n

Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema<\/a> and Aouar are reportedly good friends. They lived near each other in Lyon and their families became close during this time.<\/p>\n

As quoted in Spanish paper Diario AS<\/a>, Benzema said: \u201cThis lad\u2019s really good, if he works hard he could go far,\u201d<\/p>\n

Will He favour Los Blancos Over Arsenal?<\/h3>\n

It appears as though Aouar maintains connections to Madrid via Benzema. Such a link may be a decisive factor to persuade the Frenchman to move to Madrid over Arsenal.<\/p>\n

Arsenal would certainly benefit from Aouar’s composure and creativity in midfield next season. But a lack of Champions League football and a developing squad may not be as appealing to the 21-year-old.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>