Chelsea are considering hijacking Arsenal and Liverpool’s attempts to sign Thomas Lemar in January.

According to the Express, Chelsea have made contact with Monaco about a potential move for Lemar, with the French club reportedly more willing to listen to offers in the winter window.

Arsenal came close to signing the 22-year-old in the summer, with a £92m bid reportedly accepted, only for the deal to fall through when agreeing personal terms with the player.

There were various reports as to why that was the case, either there wasn’t enough time to push the deal through, or Lemar wanted more time to make a decision.

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MONACO – MAY 03: Thomas Lemar of Monaco during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final first leg match between AS Monaco v Juventus at Stade Louis II on May 3, 2017 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

But in the end, it didn’t happen. The circumstances have changed since then, however.

Monaco clearly aren’t the same team they were last year, and sit nine points off leaders Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. They’ve also already been knocked out of the Champions League, and didn’t even manage to drop down into the Europa League.

So, they’ve gone from a Champions League club to a club without European football, whereas the Gunners can at least offer the Europa League knockout stages.

Wenger might be able to make a more convincing case this time around, but with Chelsea and Liverpool for competition, it’s still not going to be easy.