Liverpool Transfer News: Alexandre Lacazette Move Blocked, Danny Ings Rumours

Olympique Lyon have ruled out selling star striker Alexandre Lacazette before the end of the 2015-16 season, seemingly ending Liverpool's hopes of a summer transfer move for their rumoured target.

The French outfit are building a new stadium set to be completed in time for Euro 2016, and club President Jean-Michel Aulas told beIN Sports (h/t Daily Express' Ben Jefferson) the prolific striker will still be around when the squad moves into its new home:

"Alexandre is not for sale. He is part of the generation of players we want to take to the new stadium.
He will not be for sale and he will not leave."

Club legend Sonny Anderson also elaborated about the Frenchman's future:

"

The club's project corresponds fully with his progress and is being implemented so he can continue to thrive at Lyon.

If the club continues in the same vein - to trust their youth - Alex will become increasingly essential and I think he can do even better next year.

I think it is better for him to stay. To continue to develop he should spend one more season at OL.

"

The 23-year-old has emerged as one of Europe's up-and-coming forwards during the 2014-15 season, scoring an incredible 21 goals in 23 Ligue 1 appearances, per WhoScored.com. It's no wonder the likes of Gerard Houllier are predicting big things for the young striker, via ESPN FC:

Lacazette's hot form has led to plenty of transfer speculation, with Liverpool and Arsenal frequently named as potential destinations. Lyon's strong showings in Ligue 1 mean Lacazette won't necessarily have to move in order to find Champions League football next year, and for the sake of his development, more time in France seems like a wise move.

Lyon also won't be willing to part ways with their attacking talisman, who showed his importance to the squad as soon as he returned from injury recently, via beIN Sports' Matt Spiro:

Any potential transfer would depend on how badly Lacazette wants to leave Lyon, something he's yet to comment on, and how much Brendan Rodgers would be willing to spend on another striker just one year after splashing the cash on Mario Balotelli.

Lyon's new stadium and recent strong form mean money is not a problem—the French club won't sell just to balance the books, and any offer would have to be substantial to have any chance.

A more evident target may be Burnley's Danny Ings, who reportedly turned down a move to David Moyes' Real Sociedad in order to join the Reds, per the Daily Mirror's John Cross.

The 22-year-old has been in blinding form in 2015, as shared by the club's official Twitter account, and reportedly flew to the Basque Country to talk to Moyes about a potential move to San Sebastian, according to Cross:

It seems the soon-to-be free agent has his eyes set on Anfield, however, spurning a foreign adventure in La Liga.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Ings will be a free agent in the summer, but because he's younger than 23, Liverpool will still have to come up with a compensation package worth roughly £6 million, per Cross.

In today's market, that's little more than loose change for a young British striker with heaps of potential and Premier League production, so if Ings truly wants to come to Liverpool, it'd be a shock if Rodgers didn't bring the Burnley man to Anfield.

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