Arsenal have been given the green light to pursue Lille's top talents after the French club have been ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to pay Sporting Lisbon £17m over the transfer row of Rafael Leao.
Leao joined Lille as a free agent in August 2018 after terminating his contract with Sporting, but the Portuguese side claimed the player had sidestepped his £37.4m release clause.
The forward would spend one year in France, scoring eight goals in 24 Ligue 1 appearances before joining AC Milan in August 2019.
The Italian giants paid around £19.1m for Leao's services but Leao was ordered to give to around £13.3m of it by CAS in March 2020 due to the breach of rules when he left Sporting for Lille.
Leao contested the ruling but the CAS has now settled the case which has been passed on to Lille with the fee increasing to £17m due to inflation.
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Arsenal will be on alert after pursuing two of their best players in January as Lille could be forced to sell their prized assets to raise the required funds.
Mikel Arteta's men targeted Renato Sanche s and striker Jonathan David as the Gunners attempted to add a midfielder and a striker in the winter window.
Nothing materialised, but as Arsenal failed to strengthen those areas in January, they will look to revisit them in the summer.
The Portugal international told the Gunners he was interested in moving to the Emirates last month and has made it clear he doesn't plan to sign a new contract with less than 18 months left on his current deal at Lille.
"Maybe Milan and Arsenal are interested but I don’t know," said Sanches. "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."
Lille need to sell him in the summer if they want anything in return or risk losing him for nothing in 2023, but CAS's ruling could have a bearing on proceedings, giving Arsenal the green light to make their move.
The same applies to David, albeit with an extra year on his contract, as Arsenal track the Canadian star in their search for a new striker.
The 22-year-old has previously been pictured wearing a Thierry Henry shirt and his agent Nick Mavromaras has revealed the player is keen on a Premier League switch.
"I think the Premier League is a good option for him," said Mavromaras in December.
"I think that he likes Spain a lot also because he likes the feeling of the ball and the very technical players. These two leagues are a big priority for him, but nothing is excluded."
