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    Lyon President 'Not Interested' in Juventus Offer for Moussa Dembele

    Gill Clark@@gillclarkyX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IIAugust 20, 2019

    Lyon's French forward Moussa Dembele celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Olympique Lyonnais (OL) and Angers SCO on August 16, 2019 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France. (Photo by PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP) (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images)
    PHILIPPE DESMAZES/Getty Images

    Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has said that the club are not interested in offers from Juventus for striker Moussa Dembele. 

    Aulas commented on a tweet linking Dembele with a move to the Serie A champions and ruled out letting the 23-year-old leave the Ligue 1 side, per Calciomercato.com.

    "Lyon are not interested in any offer for Dembele," he wrote. "He is one of our symbols of the new project. No Manchester United, no Juventus: it is a matter of principle, and not of price."

    Serie A champions Juventus are keen to bring Dembele to Serie A and sent scouts to watch him in action during Lyon's 6-0 win over Angers, according to Mark Walker at the Daily Record.

    Dembele joined Lyon from Celtic in 2018 and enjoyed a prolific season with Les Gones. He scored 18 goals in his first campaign, helping them finish third in Ligue 1 and qualify for the UEFA Champions League:

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    Top scoring Frenchmen in 2019 in all club competitions (top 5 leagues only): 1 | Kylian Mbappé - 25 2 | Karim Benzema - 19 3 | Moussa Dembélé - 17 4 | Wissam Ben Yedder - 16

    He appears to have picked up where he left off this season. Dembele scored in Lyon's opening 3-0 win over Monaco and bagged a brace against Angers to maintain his fine goalscoring form in the French top flight:

    Lyon President 'Not Interested' in Juventus Offer for Moussa Dembele
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    Moussa Dembele has now scored six goals in his last seven games for Lyon in Ligue 1. A brace against Angers. https://t.co/rP1nBWdm2m

    Lyon saw key players such as Tanguy Ndombele, Ferland Mendy and Nabil Fekir leave the club during the summer transfer window but appear determined to hang on to Dembele.

    Manchester United were interested in a move for the striker as a possible replacement for Romelu Lukaku, according to Sky Sports News. However, a transfer failed to materialise and the Premier League transfer window is now closed.

    The window remains open in France and Italy until September 2, but it seems Maurizio Sarri's men may have to look elsewhere to reinforce their attack.

    The Old Lady have been repeatedly linked with a move for Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi. However, a deal appears set to collapse, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Calciomercato.com).

    Juventus have also joined the race for Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar. The club have opened talks and are willing to include Paulo Dybala in the deal, according to Marco Ruiz at AS.