Monaco vice-president and CEO Vadim Vasilyev has dashed the hopes of Arsenal and Liverpool fans, at least temporarily, by confirming that star midfielder Thomas Lemar will not be sold during the January transfer window.

Vasilyev, who has overseen the development and sale of talent such as Anthony Martial (to Manchester United) and Kylian Mbappe (to Paris Saint-Germain), said that Lemar would definitely be held on until at least mid-2018.

“Thomas Lemar will definitely stay until the end of the season”, he said. “We are going for second place (behind Paris Saint-Germain). The competition is very tough with Lyon and Marseille and we need the team to stay competitive.”

However, the 52-year-old did concede that Lemar would eventually leave the club.

“It is difficult to keep them (star players)” he said, “of course Monaco is a great club and it’s an historic club in France (with) amazing success but we cannot compare ourselves with the likes of Real Madrid or (the) Manchesters, United or City. We are not in the same league.”

“So we understand that at a certain stage, the players want – once they get offers – to play at big clubs, they want to play in front of big clubs and we have to let them go at the right time.”

“(But) When is the right time? This is the tricky point.”