Barcelona will be ramping up on signing goalscorers in the summer and two names appear to be on the top list of the Spanish giants. Said to be a top priority is Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez because the Argentine is a personal pick of team captain Lionel Messi. Then there is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal.
However, it seemed that the Gunners skipper is just part of Barcelona's Plan B. The main target is Martinez but if the mission to get him out of Italy fails, Barca is ready to go for Aubameyang, who reportedly is ready to make the switch in the summer transfer window.
According to The Daily Mirror, while Martinez is Barca's priority signing, it does not mean that the Gabon international is regarded any less. It's just that for practical reasons, acquiring the 22-year-old will bring in more years as compared to Aubameyang who is already 30.
In addition, it is cheaper to acquire the Arsenal star but the report noted that Aubameyang commands the respect and admiration of the Barcelona coaching staff. The striker was even targeted for transfer at the start of January but a deal with Arsenal failed to materialize.
That's because Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta immediately thumbed down a deal that would see his top scorer go.
However, the latest reports from the Emirates now indicated that Arteta could entertain the possibility of selling his prize asset knowing that it will be hard to keep him. Convincing Aubameyang to stay will be harder now that the chance is slim for the Gunners to compete in the Champions League next season.
Metro said Arsenal will discuss business with Barcelona if the latter is ready to pay £50 million or just £7 million less from the price paid when the striker moved from Bundesliga to the Premier League in 2018.
It was worth the investment though as the team captain clocked 97 appearances since transferring from Borussia Dortmund and scored 61 goals. As if convinced he would be welcomed elsewhere, Aubameyang has rejected offers by Arsenal to extend his stay at the Emirates.
So in light of this development, it now appeared that Arsenal made the realization that keeping Aubameyang will be next to impossible. The team has decided to just cash in on the money that a deal on the skipper can be realized.
Per the same report, Barcelona made clear that the asking price for Aubameyang is too high and reminded the player's agent that the club is ready to walk away if a downward adjustment is not made.
