Barcelona Transfer News: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Fee Revealed, Latest Rumours
Barcelona will have to pay a whopping £42 million if they're to land Borussia Dortmund ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January, but Liverpool and Arsenal will offer stern competition for one of Europe's in-form attackers.
According to German newspaper Bild, the Black and Yellows have placed a €60 million price tag on their star striker, and Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is looking to sign the attacker for a second time (h/t Uche Amako of the Daily Express).
A winter deal of this magnitude will always appear unlikely given the January market is such a difficult time in which to do business, but Barca's chances seem all that slimmer considering the club has such a tight budget.
Lluis Miguelsanz of Catalan newspaper Sport reported the Blaugrana have "virtually no money to spend" and are more focused on cutting their debts, with loans and deferred payments their most realistic options.
Barca have had to endure a difficult 2015 due to their transfer embargo, preventing the club from registering new players and leading some to suggest January could be a big opportunity to strengthen their ranks.
However, it appears Premier League big guns Arsenal and Liverpool will be more capable of matching Dortmund's evaluation of a player whom Squawka Dave has pointed out as one of the most prolific this year:
Even if Barcelona did have major funds to spend, it's difficult to see where Aubameyang would slot into their plans, considering Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have been so indispensable in attack of late.
Amako cited a report from BBC World Service, where the Gabon international confessed Spain could be a potential destination for him in future: "Maybe one day I'll leave to play in another league because my dream is to play in Spain. The Premier League? Lots of people think that it would good for me but my Mum is Spanish and I really have that dream to play over there."
The 26-year-old was brought to North Rhine-Westphalia by Liverpool chief Klopp in 2013. With Daniel Sturridge struggling with injury and Danny Ings out for the season, it's no surprise the German is once again looking to acquire Aubameyang's services.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have promoted Theo Walcott to the main striking role this season following frustrations with Olivier Giroud, while Danny Welbeck is yet to play a minute of the 2015-16 campaign.
Borussia Dortmund have become accustomed to signing players only for Europe's "bigger" outfits to come hunting their signatures following success at Signal Iduna Park. Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, both now at Bayern Munich, are two high-profile examples of their profit-spinning methods.
However, Aubameyang is contracted to the club until 2020, meaning Thomas Tuchel can feel at ease knowing Dortmund are under no pressure to cash in on a star whose success has been put into numbers by Squawka:
Meanwhile, Barcelona have been told they have 15 days to decide whether they'll make a move for out-of-favour Paris Saint-Germain winger Ezequiel Lavezzi, who's out of contract next summer.
That's according to Sport's Didac Peyret, who added the 30-year-old would cost only €5 million and is open to joining. Football Italia cited Sport, which provided quotes from the Argentina international hinting he could leave Parc des Princes: “My contract with PSG ends in June. We’ll see what happens.”
Lavezzi would be by some margin a more realistic investment at this point, taking into account how affordable he would be, not to mention he couldn't demand a starting place in front of Neymar or Messi.
Barca fans may like to see their club signing world-beaters such as Suarez and Neymar every year, but it appears the Catalan giants are set for a lull in spending following a bout of splashing the cash in recent years.
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