Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City are all making a push for French playmaker Sofiane Boufal. The 22-year-old is under contract for the next three years with Lille, however the French side is asking £16 million for Boufal, according to Bleacher Report.
Lille sporting director Jean-Michel Vandamme, confirmed he has received interest in Boufal from multiple clubs during the January transfer window, but it's up to Italian sides to come forward if they are seriously interested in the French Midfielder.
"Boufal costs at least €20m (£15.6m), that's the minimum," Vandamme said, according to the Metro. "In January, it was impossible for him to be sold. We're not a club that sells in the winter window, in June there's a possibility that he may leave, though there are Premier League clubs after him too. I think the Italian clubs had better beat that competition by negotiating now."
With interest from Italian clubs Inter Milan and Juventus, as well as Ligue 1 rival Paris Saint-Germain and smaller stature Stoke City and Southampton from the Premier League, Lille's valuation of the midfielder has sky rocketed, according to according to talkSPORT.
After buying Boufal for £2.3 million from Angers last summer, Lille is set to make a tidy profit from Boufal who has established himself as a valuable young talent in the French league.
Boufal has scored six goals with Lille in 17 league matches, however four goals came in his first nine matches. Inconsistency in his play and a lack of discipline (Boufal has received eight yellow cards and one red this season) could deter Premier League suitors, according to Bleacher Report.
Boufal has already been dubbed "the next Eden Hazard," according to Goal, and missing out on Hazard when he left Lille for Chelsea in 2012 might prompt Manchester United to make a move on Boufal, so as not to make the same mistake twice. But United could find itself in a bidding war, with competition for Boufal coming from all across Europe.