Arsenal FC, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, so let’s do some transfer talk instead. If there’s one thing that can survive a global pandemic, it’s transfer rumors.
Be sure to check out our all-transfer rumor Arsenal XI and our optimal Arsenal XI, a team with all main transfer targets acquired and key players retained. We start with the latest on forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been advised by his father to snub the interest of Chelsea and stay put in Arsenal.
It’s a very fluid situation, and things can certainly change, but it doesn’t seem like that will be the course of action right now for the 30-year-old.
The Daily Express reports that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is preparing to sell Aubameyang in the summer transfer window “after the club set an asking price of £30 million for the Gabon international.”
The article goes on to state that the Gunners will be looking to replace PEA with Chelsea winger Willian, who is available on a free this summer. We could see a north London derby in the transfer window for the Brazilian, as he’s wanted by Tottenham Hotspur as well.
Aubameyang is currently the club’s second highest earner, with wages of around £200,000-a-week. He’s a far cry from the top spot, of £350,000-a-week, which belongs to Mesut Ozil. It turns out the future of the club’s most handsomely paid player is in doubt as well.
According to sources at ESPN, the 31-year-old’s contract situation is still unresolved as it nears expiration, and no one is sure what’s going to happen.
The report goes on to say that both Milan clubs as well as Turkish side Fenerbahce were interested, but couldn’t reconcile the massive salary figures. The retired German international has drawn interest from the Chinese Super League, were his wage demands could easily be met, but he doesn’t have interest in moving to Asia.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.