Barcelona have reached an agreement to sign Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to reports in Spain.
Xavi is keen for the La Liga giants to sign a forward before the end of the window and they had been negotiating with Juventus over a possible deal for Alvaro Morata.
However, Barcelona have now opened discussions with Arsenal this week to discuss a potential move for Aubameyang.
The striker has been frozen out of the first team by Mikel Arteta and has not played any game for the club since he was stripped of the captaincy after a series of disciplinary breaches last month.
Aubameyang was also excluded from the Gunners’ warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
Arsenal are now open to letting Aubameyang leave but are asking interested teams to cover his £350,000-per-week salary in full.
According to Gerard Romero, Barca have reached an agreement to loan Aubameyang until the end of the campaign but the move hinges on the club being able to sell Ousmane Dembele before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Dembele, who is a close friend of Aubameyang after their time together at Dortmund, is out of contract at the end of the season and Barcelona have stated that they plan to sell the winger before the window closes.
Barcelona’s director of football, Mateu Alemany, said last week: ‘It is obvious that the player does not want to continue and is not committed to our future.
‘In that scenario, he and his agents have been informed that he should leave immediately because we want players who are committed to our project. Therefore, we hope to transfer him before January 31.’
