Spanish giants Barcelona are closing on Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on loan after agreeing to pay the full wages of the player for the next five months. Former Arsenal skipper is frozen out of the first team at Emirates Stadium since the start of December. Mikel Arteta is also pushing for the striker’s exit to raise the funds for other targets before Monday transfer deadline day.
The 32-year-old Gabonese striker was stripped of a captaincy role after breaching the club’s disciplinary rules. He has been suspended from the first team training session as well, forcing the club into the search for a new striker. But the Gunners lost the race for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic who joined Juventus on Friday. They are now working on other forward signings Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Victor Osimhen, and Aleksander Isak.
Aubameyang arrived in North Lonon from Borussia Dortmund for a then club-record fee of £56 million in 2018 and has been a big hit at Emirates. He has scored 92 goals in 163 overall appearances for Arsenal but his end will not be a joyful one for sure. But former Arsenal star Paul Merson recently suggested that Mikel Arteta should bring back Aubameyang into the fold if they fail to land any striker.
Barcelona Close To Secure Loan Deal For Aubameyang?
La Liga giants are in the market for a new striker this month after an unexpected departure of last summer signing Sergio Aguero. The Argentine striker was forced to retire after getting diagnosed with heart disease in November. Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay are struggling for fitness and Luke de Jong remains the only natural striker at Camp Nou this season.
Barcelona manager Xavi was keen on signing Juventus striker Alvaro Morata who is on loan from Atletico Madrid. But Morata’s agent recently ruled out a La Liga return for his agent after a lack of efforts from Barcelona management. Barcelona are struggling to raise funds to sign any player and looking to offload out-of-favour French attacker Ousmane Dembele.
According to a report from the Athletic, Barcelona and Juventus have stepped up their efforts to sign Aubameyang on loan in the next two days. Juventus are considering terminating Morata loan ahead of Vlahoivc arrival at Allianz Arena and looking to sign Aubameyang on loan as a cover. Barcelona need to offload Dembele or any of their key player to secure Ubameyang on loan who earns £300k-a-week and has 18 months remaining on his contract at Arsenal.