MY ACCOUNT
Alexandre Lacazette has urged Corentin Tolisso to follow his lead by returning to Lyon.
Lacazette, 31, was presented as a Lyon player on Thursday after the club confirmed he is re-joining from Arsenal when his Gunners contract expires at the end of June.
The France striker spent five years in north London after leaving Lyon in 2017 in a deal the Ligue 1 club claim was worth €60million (£51.3m).
It was confirmed on Thursday that he has signed a three-year deal with his former club, though it would seem he may not be the only Lyon youth product to return to the Groupama Stadium.
Tolisso left for Bayern Munich the same year Lacazette departed, and while he won a host of titles, including five Bundesliga crowns and the Champions League, his spell in Germany was an injury-interrupted disappointment.
Only once did he manage to appear in more than half of Bayern’s league games, and it was confirmed at the end of May that Tolisso, 27, was to depart at the end of June once his contract had finished.
And, speaking during his presentation, Lacazette told the midfielder where he should head next.
He said: “Above all, I want to help the club get back to the top of the pile. I spoke with the coach, he called me last week. He told me what he expected of me. I don’t need the armband to talk in the locker room.
“There have been many changes since I left. The club is progressing well. Anthony [Lopes], he’s been writing to me every week for six months to find out if I’ve made my decision. I also push for Corentin Tolisso to come back.”
Lacazette’s return means he could yet become Lyon’s all-time leading goalscorer.
During his first spell at the club, he netted 129 times – the record, set by Fleury Di Nallo in 1974, is 222.
He could not hide that the record is at the back of his mind but stressed it is not his main objective.
“I thank the president, Vincent [Ponsot, director of football] and Bruno [Cheyrou, technical director], but above all for the welcome and the love you have shown me in recent weeks. It was obvious to me [to return],” he said.
“Despite the absence of the Champions League, the project was more important than anything else.
“I felt I could be useful in the locker room and on the pitch in this project, so it was the best decision.
“It’s exciting to come back. I can’t wait to start the season. I have progressed in my leadership, I gained experience.
“The ranking of goalscorers in OL’s history is in the back of my head, but it’s not the priority.”
