Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has quoted €80 million as his asking price for their star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Aubameyang has become one of Europe’s leading strikers over the past few seasons and is understood to be a target for a number of teams.
The striker has been in sensational form this campaign, having scored 20 goals in 22 games for Dortmund before netting twice in Gabon’s first two Africa Cup of Nation group games.
It is thought that La Liga giants Real Madrid are the favorites to sign with the Bernabeu being the forward’s preferred destination having made a promise to his grandfather to play one day for the Los Blancos.
And Arsenal were also reported to have made an enormous bid of €90m (£80m) for Aubameyang during the summer which was rebuffed by Dortmund at the time according to Italian agent Vincenzo Morabito
But Dortmund’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has now admitted the club would consider a transfer this summer if they receive a large enough offer
Speaking to kicker TV as reported by mirror CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admits a bid of £68.5 million could do the trick saying:
‘We can never guarantee that a player will stay with Borussia Dortmund forever, but our strength is to always find new solutions.
‘Auba was our alternative to ‘the world ending’ after [Robert] Lewandowski’s departure. With an €80 million offer, I would be thinking about [club president] Reinhard Rauball and [sporting director] Michael Zorc – if we had one, we would have to get together with Pierre-Emerick.
‘We always have to differentiate between situations where there is such an offer, but we have no pressure…I would prefer it if no offer came.
‘He is definitely good enough to go to an even bigger club. There are only a few, but I’m glad to read that it’s a good idea to go to Barcelona.
This interview comes days after the player has been quoted admitting the possibility of his departure during the summer even though he is currently enjoying his time at the Westfalenstadion saying:
‘No one can predict the future,’
‘The only thing for sure is that I’m currently with Dortmund and I love it there.
‘But I cannot say that I’ll stay for another two, five or 10 years. It is possible that in June a club comes to an agreement with Dortmund.
‘At the moment I really don’t think about it. I focus only on the work with my team-mates with Dortmund and Gabon.’
This change of stance might entice the Gunners into making another offer for the Gabon international’s services though this time with a lower offer if the reports are to believed about Arsenals interest last summer.
He is an excellent player with the statistics to back it up. Moreover, with the quality in midfield that the Gunners possess and the chances they create having Aubameyang leading the line and banging them in seems like a mouth-watering prospect from a fan’s point of view.
There is nothing more to be said about his quality that isn’t already known. One of the fastest players with the ball and as deadly a finisher there can be, he has the to talent to make a fool out of the most stubborn defenses. There is no number of buses that you can park to stop a player like him from scoring.
Wenger has quite a few problems with spending a buck too many but splashing the right amount for a player he believes can genuinely improve his team is not one of them.
While a £68.5 million price for a player with such devastating pace and quality might sound like a fair deal, it still remains to be seen if the player is ready to don the red and white shirt or even move to the Premier League for that matter instead of the La Liga if he does leave Signal Iduna Park.
But an Arsenal fan can certainly hope to see someone faster than Bellerin or Walcott in Arsenal colors as our much-coveted marquee striker.
Waiting for Wenger to bring out the checkbook and buy us an Aubameyang soon. Till then second in the table on to the summit. COYG !!!!
