Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 7y

Lyon hopeful of deal for Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz - Aulas

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has said the club are "getting closer" to signing Real Madrid centre-forward Mariano Diaz.

Diaz, fourth choice at the Bernabeu last season, is expected to move on and has been linked with clubs including Tottenham, Liverpool, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

Asked whether the move would be on loan or permanent, Aulas told L'Equipe: "It's a transfer. We're studying both solutions, but we're looking more at a transfer.

"We have been following him for some time. We have heard good things from Karim [Benzema]. We also have good allies with the president Florentino Perez, who I know well, and the all-powerful coach [Zinedine Zidane], who has also told us good things.

"If we have the means to do it, it's a priority for OL."

Asked about Diaz's lack of playing time, Aulas said: "He has some very high quality rivals in front of him that we can't bring to Lyon for economic reasons.

"According to Zinedine and Karim, he's a very good player. He's young, powerful and very ambitious. It would be a great coup."

Diaz, a Barcelona-born Dominican Republic international, scored five times in 302 minutes for Madrid last season, with four of those goals coming against third tier side La Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey.

He had earned his chance in the senior squad after scoring 27 goals in 32 games for Madrid's Castilla youth side in Segunda B.

Aulas has said he will let Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette leave if Lyon can find a suitable replacement, while a €10 million deal for Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore has been completed.

ESPN FC's France correspondent Ian Holyman contributed to this report.

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