Arsenal buy Aubameyang
Leicester winger Mahrez in City’s sights
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club record fee of 56 million pounds ($79 million) on Wednesday.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger – who in August kept the soccer world on tenterhooks as he held out selling Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City because he failed to secure Thomas Lemar from Monaco – did not wait until the last minute to land the Gabon striker.
Wenger persuaded the Arsenal board to pay more for the 28-year-old than the 46.5 million pounds they shelled out for Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette in August.
Dortmund have eyed up a sixmonth loan move for Belgian international Michy Batshuayi from champions Chelsea, who have stipulated there will be no option to buy at the end of that period.
“Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has joined us from Borussia Dortmund on a long-term contract for a club record fee,” the statement from Arsenal said.
“He scored 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga games for Dortmund and had a hand in 172 goals in 213 matches in all competitions for his former club.”
Aubameyang’s arrival should see French veteran Olivier Giroud completing the musical chairs by signing for Chelsea even though Wenger was loath to let him move to a rival as Sanchez joined Manchester United earlier this month.
However, the French striker is keen to stay in London as he seeks regular first-team action to secure his place in France’s World Cup squad.
Aubameyang will alleviate the pressure on Lacazette although he would be ineligible for the Europa League having already played in the Champions League this campaign.
Elsewhere runaway leaders Manchester City have lodged a surprise 60 million pound bid for 2016 champions Leicester City’s Algerian star Riyad Mahrez, who ignored manager Claude Puel’s pleas for him to stay by putting in a transfer request.
However, Leicester are unlikely to let the 26-year-old – who was a key player in their stunning title success in 2016 and who has returned to form this term after a dip last season – leave for less than 90 million pounds.
City have lost influential Germany winger Leroy Sane for up to seven weeks with an ankle injury and, with the club competing on four fronts, Guardiola suggested he may require a replacement.
“Right now, it’s the same as [Alexis] Sanchez. It’s not the place to talk about it. It’s so difficult,” City manager Pep Guardiola said Tuesday when asked about Mahrez.
“If things are not possible, then nothing is going to happen. We don’t have too much and we play every three days. We have to find solutions.”
It’s not just the top clubs involved in the frenetic last few hours of a January that apart from Sanchez becoming the highest-paid player in the league – on a reported pre-tax 500,000 pounds a week – has seen City pay a record fee of 57 million pounds for young French centerback Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao.
Tottenham too are getting close to signing Brazilian Lucas Moura, who has fallen out of favor at French giants Paris Saint-Germain with the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
The 25-year-old has according to reports passed his medical and would be the fifth most expensive signing in the club’s history.