Journalist Fabrizio Romano has been talking about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Barcelona’s interest in signing him earlier this summer.
On the latest episode of the Here We Go podcast, Romano talked about multiple potential transfers in European football. One player that he focused on was Aubameyang, who recently signed a new contract with Premier League giants Arsenal. Romano revealed that the Catalan giants were ‘close’ to signing Aubameyang and they had even made contact with his agent.
The Gabonese forward signed a new three-year deal at the Emirates Stadium-based club recently and he said that signing the contract with the Gunners was ‘never in doubt’ for him. He was linked with a move to Barcelona earlier this summer.
Romano revealed that Barca had made contact with Aubameyang’s agent and if Ronald Koeman wasn’t appointed as the club’s new manager, the 31-year-old could have been Barcelona’s ‘first target’ this summer.
He said: “It was May, Barcelona were considering to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter. They immediately had problems when the virus came. What happened is that they [could not] afford like €100 million to sign Lautaro Martinez and that’s why Barcelona had contact directly with the agents of Aubameyang. So Barcelona were considering Aubameyang. I would say – if Koeman was not going to be the new manager for Barcelona and he decided, ‘okay, we’re going to try to sign [Memphis] Depay from Lyon’ because he’s a player who [he] knows and he loves him – but without Koeman on the bench, I’m sure that Barcelona, as [their] first target this summer, [they] were going to try for Aubameyang because they had contact with his agent.
Do you think Barcelona will sign Aubameyang in the future?
Yes
No
“Aubameyang has been respectful. He said to Arsenal, ‘okay, I’m ready to extend the contract.’ The club who was close to signing Aubameyang was really Barcelona.”
TIF Thoughts…
Aubameyang has already opened his goalscoring account in the 2020/21 season for Arsenal. He found the back of the net once for the club against Fulham recently, helping Arsenal pick up a 3-0 win. He also scored once in the club’s FA Community Shield final against Liverpool (as per Transfermarkt).
He had scored 29 times in all competitions last season. In the Premier League, he had scored 22 goals as well. It shows how important a player Aubameyang is for Arsenal and the club’s fans should be delighted that he has now signed a new deal and he is prepared to stay committed to the club, despite Barcelona’s interest in him earlier this summer.