Arsene Wenger is “privately resigned” to losing Alexis Sanchez in the summer transfer window, and has identified Alexandre Lacazette as an ideal replacement at Arsenal, reports The Mirror’s John Cross.

Lyon claimed it had spurned a €35-million (£30-million) bid from Arsenal last summer, but this time it could take a huge €70 million (£60 million) to prize him from the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region.

There could be tougher competition than West Ham United – which also apparently had an offer refused in that transfer window – to sign Lacazette this time around. Liverpool, the Gunners’ opponent in Saturday’s Premier League fixtures and a top-four rival, is also interested, but will have to offload Daniel Sturridge to free up funds.

If Antoine Griezmann leaves for Manchester United at the end of the season, Atletico Madrid could too join the race.

Lacazette, 25, is believed to be ready to entertain a move from his hometown club, where he made his professional debut under Claude Puel in 2010. His finishing and dribbling finesse have earned him plaudits outside of France over the past three seasons, which have seen him tally a huge 70 strikes in 89 Ligue 1 appearances.

(Photo courtesy: Reuters)

And Arsenal may be the most desperate party to land Lacazette due to the possibility of a considerable void left by Sanchez. The Chilean has grown in influence at the Emirates Stadium this season after showing his ferocity in a No. 9 role, but that has coincided with the forward cutting a frustrated figure as the club appears to be limping to another trophyless campaign.

Sanchez’s current terms expire in 2018, with Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain rumoured to be most keen in acquiring his services and potentially meeting his £250,000-a-week demands.

Sanchez’s involvement in Arsenal affairs has displeased some back in Chile, with a protest organised on Wednesday against him continuing employment in north London. Those voicing their displeasure totalled approximately five to eight people.

Related – Watch: Fewer than 10 people attend protest urging Sanchez to leave Arsenal

While serious doubts rest with Sanchez’s future, there is belief that Mesut Ozil, whose contract also expires in 2018, will eventually agree to a longer stay – although that may depend on whether Wenger stays beyond the current campaign.

INDIANAPOLIS — Often a prospect at the NFL’s scouting combine will step into the room the Denver Broncos use for player interviews and feel a bit in awe seeing John Elway for the first time.

For Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, it was a far different experience. McCaffrey’s father Ed played for the Broncos’ back-to-back Super Bowl winners to close out the 1997 and 1998 seasons, so seeing Elway was a reminder of home.

It was the same when McCaffrey saw Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Del Rio’s son, Luke, was a quarterback for McCaffrey’s high school team when Jack Del Rio was the Broncos defensive coordinator.

“Looking at the Raiders’ side and the Broncos’ side, so many people here that I’ve grown up knowing,’’ McCaffrey said Thursday at the combine. “It’s pretty surreal now that I’m here.’’

McCaffrey met with the Broncos’ decision-makers Wednesday night. Not as a hometown kid catching up, but as a versatile runner, receiver and returner the Broncos could use to spice up an offense that will get plenty of attention in free agency and the draft.

Or as McCaffrey put it: “I believe I would be an every-down back and a specialist.’’

“He’s a dynamic player who can do it all,’’ Elway said. “Wherever he goes he’s going to have an immediate impact.’’

Asked if it would be any more difficult for McCaffrey to play for the team his dad played for, in the city where his parents still live — Ed is a cohost on an afternoon radio show in Denver — Elway said Christian’s competitiveness would make it an easy transition.

“Knowing what I know of Christian and knowing how competitive he is, he’s got a great deal of respect for his dad, but he also looks at himself and he’s going to blaze his own trail,’’ Elway said. “The expectations that he has for himself are awful high.’’

The Broncos have the 20th pick in the first round and, depending on the team or the draft analyst polled, McCaffrey sits as the No. 3 or No. 4 back on the draft board leading up to the combine workouts for backs Friday.

It is a deep draft class at the position as well, which could make teams more patient in selecting one and potentially push a back or two further down the board than one might expect. But LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, McCaffrey and Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara generally are regarded as the top of the class.

Round 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

INDIANAPOLIS – Don’t count on B.J. Raji to help bolster the Green Bay Packers’ defense.

The former Pro Bowl defensive tackle has not shown any interest in returning to the NFL one year after he decided to take what he called a “hiatus” from the game at age 29.

“When he made the decision it was to go home and take care of his family and be with them, and he’s still doing that,” Raji’s agent, Brian Murphy, told ESPN.com Thursday at the NFL scouting combine. “His family is his first priority. He hasn’t really thought about football.”

It was at the combine last year that Murphy and fellow agent Camron Hahn were putting the finishing touches on a deal for Raji to re-sign with the Packers.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Derek Carr’s initial plan was to ramp up his rehab from his broken right fibula in time to play in the Super Bowl, had the Oakland Raiders advanced that far in the NFL’s postseason tournament.

But when the Raiders fell at the Houston Texans in the opening weekend of the playoffs, Carr’s comeback took a more timely approach, though Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Thursday that his quarterback was on track for next season.

“He’s doing well,” Del Rio told ESPN’s Matt Barrie. “Yeah, Derek is healing, and we’re happy about that. He’s obviously a very vital piece of what we do and … we’re happy about the way things are coming along.”

Del Rio was asked how Carr’s ascent played a part in the Raiders’ revival, from an 0-10 start in 2014 to starting out 12-3 in 2016.

“Well, it’s been tremendous for us,” Del Rio said. “I think finding that trigger man is so huge for you and one of the things that we’ve done is we’ve played to the talent that he does have. So some of the things that he did in college, we’ve integrated into the offense and how we approach it.”

Carr, who finished tied for third in NFL MVP voting, passed for 3,937 yards while completing 63.8 percent of his passes in 15 games. He also had 28 touchdown passes and six interceptions for a passer rating of 96.7 with seven come-from-behind drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.

In an interview with Sirius XM this week, Carr said he looked forward to coming back with his “hair on fire” in Oakland.

“We’re really close,” Carr said. “It feels good, obviously, I still have a little bit of the process to go, so I won’t put a number on it … I’ll never put a number on it, but I can assure you I’ll be back 100 percent, ready to go, and we’re almost there.”

Carr also acknowledged after the season he had suffered a fracture in his right (passing) finger on a mistimed snap in Week 12. It was called a dislocation at the time.

With both the finger and leg, broken in Week 16, healing, Carr said he wants to participate in the Raiders offseason program, which begins April 17. Rookie minicamp is scheduled for May 5-7 with OTAs on May 23-25, May 30-June 1 and June 5-June 8 and mandatory minicamp June 13-15.

“My goal is to make sure there’s no lingering effects of anything,” Carr said. “Now it’s just going to be up to what the team and myself, getting together, what we think is the best plan. There’s nothing holding me back physically. We’re just trying to be smart in the way we do it. You don’t want anything to push it back a couple weeks just because maybe we rushed a certain thing.

“We’ve taken this process as slow as possible ever since our team got knocked out of the playoffs. We’re going to continue to do that, but I fully expect to be out there with my teammates when everything starts up.”