Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Isco

There is no reason why striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would not be an ideal fit at Real Madrid, according to the Gabon international's Spanish Borussia Dortmund team-mate, Mikel Merino.

Merino moved to Dortmund from Spanish club Osasuna in the summer and has since been converted from a midfielder into a centre-back by manager Thomas Tuchel.

Aubameyang remained at the Westfalenstadion during the recent transfer window despite numerous links to Real, but Merino said he could be an ideal striker for Los Blancos and he has learned since his conversion into a defender just how talented the 27-year-old is, per Goal's Alberto Pinero:

"

Aubameyang is a bullet. I knew it [before I was converted into a defender], but when you have to defend against him as centre-back, you can feel it much more.

Not just because of his speed, but also for his good movements and his finishing. He's a top player. Would he fit at Real Madrid? The strikers there need to score and make a difference. He does it.

He would fit, of course. He is doing what Real Madrid ask to their strikers. I don't know why he couldn't play there.

"

Aubameyang has continued his good form from 2015-16—when he netted 25 Bundesliga goals—at the start of the new term, scoring five league goals in just four matches, per WhoScored.com.

Real have also made an impressive start to the 2016-17 La Liga campaign and sit top the standings after six matches unbeaten.

However, the Madrid outfit could potentially be improved further by the addition of Aubameyang.

Karim Benzema is currently the only out-and-out striker manager Zinedine Zidane has to call on—Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo are also both capable of leading the line—and the Frenchman can find himself over-burdened at times given that Real compete across numerous competitions.

As Merino noted, Aubameyang has all the attributes needed to excel at the Santiago Bernabeu, most important of which is his prolific goalscoring.

If Real are to attempt to sign him, though, they will have to successfully appeal against the two-window FIFA transfer ban currently imposed on them. 

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Elsewhere, Real may reportedly have to fight off former Real manager Jose Mourinho to keep Isco as the Portuguese is keen to take the Spaniard to Manchester United.

Per AS (via Warren Haughton in the Sun), United "will go head-to-head with AC Milan" to sign the playmaker in January.

Isco, 24, has failed to nail down a regular first-team spot at Real since he moved to the Bernabeu in 2013 and, to the bafflement of football writer Lucas Navarrete, has appeared only from the bench in La Liga in 2016-17:

If Zidane continues to use Isco only sparingly, Mourinho may well be able to tempt him to Old Trafford with the promise of more regular first-team action.