Latest reports are claiming that Arsenal have named our price to Barcelona for the signature of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with £50 Million supposedly the figure being demanded.
The Gabonese international is claimed to have said he will not be signing a new contract with the club, and with only 12 months remaining on his current deal come this summer, his sale looks almost forced on our part.
We could decide to force the player to stay at the club at risk of losing him for free in 12 months time, or to try and sell him for a lower fee come January. Either way the financial implications could be huge, and although he would be tough to replace, it could help us out in the long run.
The 30 year-old has scored 17 of our 40 Premier League goals this term, although his portion of the goals was higher before Arteta took over as coach, and he clearly is bringing more out of the players around him.
The £50 Million fee would likely not be enough to bring in a proven world class goalscorer any more, with the likes of Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku and Kylian Mbappe going for over 50% higher than that fee, but there is always a chance of landing an Erling Haaland, who just moved to Dortmund for £20 Million and is absolutely on fire.
His acquisition was a slight risk, as the Austrian is hardly up in lights, but his Champions League exploits was enough for the BVB to pull the trigger, and what a bargain he is proving to be.
Assuming the current Premier League season is allowed to continue, Aubameyang will be key in our bid to climb into the European slots, with hope of a top five finish all that is needed this term to gain Champions League football.
Losing Aubameyang may hamper our bid to return to the elite European competition temporarily, but using that money to close the gap could be a part of the bigger picture.
If Aubameyang is definitely not signing another deal, would you take £50 Million or keep him for 12 more months?
Patrick