Arsenal make improved £55million bid for Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang
The Gunners submitted an improved offer last night following further talks with Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc
ARSENAL are on the brink of completing a £55million deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after making a third bid for the Borussia Dortmund striker.
The Gunners submitted an improved offer last night following further talks with Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc.
And though the deal has not yet been formally agreed, Arsenal are now confident that they will get their man before Wednesday’s transfer deadline.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and head of recruitment Sven Mislinstat have spent the last week in Dortmund trying to thrash out a deal.
Their first offer of £45million was immediately rejected and an improved £50million offer also failed to convince the Bundesliga giants.
Zorc insisted on Saturday that Aubameyang would stay for the rest of the season unless Arsenal matched the full £60million asking price for their 21-goal top scorer.
But now it looks as though a compromise figure has been reached, with Arsenal offering a club £55million for the player plus the possibility of a further £5million in add-ons for certain agreed targets being reached.
As things stand, the deal will be a straight cash transfer. There still remains a possibility that Olivier Giroud could go to Dortmund on loan, but the Aubameyang move is not dependent on that.
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Aubameyang, 28, has made it clear to Dortmund that he wants to leave after being booed by the club’s own supporters during Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Freiburg.
And Dortmund coach Peter Stoger has recommended to his bosses that they sell the controversial striker this month to end the uncertainty surrounding his club.
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Arsenal are understood to have offered to make Aubameyang the highest paid player in the club’s history with a contract to 2021 worth £180,000-per-week.
He will become their second high profile signing of the January transfer after Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived in a straight swap deal for Alexis Sanchez last week.