Chelsea are interested in signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as they believe Arsenal will be forced to sell the striker in the next transfer window.
The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic is already being felt at the Emirates with players at the club taking a 12.5 per cent pay cut.
Talks over a new deal for top scorer Aubameyang are also on hold, increasing the possibility of the 30-year-old forward attracting offers in the next transfer window.
Aubameyang will only have one year remaining on his contract once this campaign ends and the gunners cannot afford to risk losing one of their most prized assets for free.
• Ajax denied league title as season ends without promotion and relegation
• Chelsea plan talks with Ziyech over transfer issues
Apart from Chelsea who have made signing a new striker one of their key priorities, His situation is also being monitored by Barcelona and Inter Milan.
Mikel Arteta is desperate to keep Aubameyang, but rival teams believe financial pressures may now have an impact on Arsenal’s decision.
Barcelona made an enquiry about signing Aubameyang towards the end of the January transfer window, but were told the gunners would not consider any offers under £50 million.
Now, That valuation may have to drop, which could make the Gabon international one of the relative bargains of the next transfer window.
Chelsea will try to sign a forward in the next window and
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s experience and proven record in the Premier League will be attractive.
Since signing for Arsenal in January 2018, Aubameyang has scored 49 Premier League goals in 75 games and had netted 20 times in all competitions this season before it was suspended.
The Arsenal skipper earns just under £200,000-a-week at the club, but his salary is topped up by a number of lucrative bonuses.
Arsenal are reluctant to hand him a big pay rise, and also look unable to offer him Champions League football for next campaign, with the Gabonese striker desperate to test himself in Europe’s big competition again.
