Barcelona’s interest in Aubameyang transfer confirmed

In the last couple of days, there have been murmurs in the transfer market regarding Barcelona’s interest in Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Several reports have suggested that the Catalan are interested in Aubameyang. And they might be interested in doing a swap deal with the Gunners. The Catalans have recommended the name of their Brazilian forward Phillippe Coutinho.

On Tuesday evening, the speculation has gained further momentum as Sky Sports has confirmed Barcelona’s interest in the Gabonese striker.

As earlier reported, the La Liga club have offered Coutinho as part of the swap deal. It’s for the first time that a major English publication has reported on this rumour, and it has undoubtedly added some credence to the murmurs from earlier.

The report further adds that Barcelona were initially interested in signing Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham.

But due to their financial constraints, they were not able to compete with Serie A side AS Roma. The English international has agreed on terms with Roma, and he is expected to join Jose Mourinho’s side in a £34 million deal soon.

It appears that Barcelona have now turned their attention towards the Arsenal man. The Catalan are under tremendous pressure to reduce their expenditure on players this summer. However, signing a striker is a priority for Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman.

He said: “It’s true that looking at the team’s positions, we’re currently lacking people at the top. What we have up front is short and that is why we have talked about being able to sign a forward.

“It suits us because we have different strikers but to have more competition would be good. But it all depends on whether we can sign.

“Every coach has areas he wants to improve, but it all depends on Financial Fair Play. If it’s possible, we will sign a striker up.”

Barcelona have already signed Sergio Aguero on a free deal from Manchester City this summer.

However, the Argentinian striker is expected to be out for at least ten weeks. Denmark striker Martin Braithwaite is another option at the disposal of Koeman.

The Catalans opened their La Liga campaign with a 4-2 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday. Braithwaite started the game upfront and made a telling difference in the result. He scored two goals and provided an assist in the game. The 30-year-old has certainly made a case for himself at Barcelona. However, the feeling is that only some players are untouchable at the Catalan club, and they would be willing to sell anyone if the right offer comes in.