Tottenham could well hold the key in whether Arsenal’s club-record deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goes through according to reports.
The Gunners sent a delegation of officials to Germany to negotiate a fee for the Gabon international and finally made a breakthrough over the weekend, with the German side agreeing to sell for a figure of £55m.
The article adds however that the original deal was struck under the assumption that Arsenal’s French star Olivier Giroud would move the other way on loan – however he has rejected the move and wants to stay in London and thus we are into what could be a complicated transfer merry-go-round, as it now seems that Chelsea’s Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi seems likeliest to replace Aubameyang at Dortmund, with Chelsea working on a deal to sign Giroud to replace the Belgian.
However German publication Kicker reports that the three-way deal has hit a snag, with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte not keen on signing Giroud and instead preferring to sign Spurs’ Fernando Llorente.
The Italian is a fan of Llorente, having worked together at Juventus and he tried to sign him in the summer, while he is of the belief that the Spaniard can be a good influence on out-of-form compatriot Alvaro Morata.
However Conte has a problem as Tottenham do not want to sell Llorente, and thus if Chelsea do not sign a backup striker then they will not permit Batshuayi to join Dortmund and if Dortmund do not sign a new striker they will not permit Aubameyang to join Arsenal.
So a complicated situation that Spurs have inadvertently got themselves involved in. With imminent arrival of Lucas Moura a squad place does need to be freed up. If Chelsea do want Llorente, do we sell to them at a profit and hope that Son would fill Harry’s shoes if the worst were to happen. Batshuayi would be a good addition but he isn’t likely to swap their bench for ours in World Cup year. Scuppering the Aubameyang deal would be hilarious though.