‘Transfer intermediary’ Vincenzo Morabito has claimed that Arsenal made a massive €90 million bid for Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the summer. The Gabon international is one of the most lethal strikers on the planet but the massive bid was promptly turned down by the German side (via Sport Witness).
Arsenal aren’t exactly short of goals right now but things might have been even better if the club had pulled this transfer off. Reports indicate that the Gunners made an incredible offer of €90 million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the summer.
The player signed for Borussia Dortmund in 2013 but has grown to become one of the best forwards in the world. He got 16 goals in 48 matches during his first year and by last season that figure was up to 39 in 49. He has 11 in 9 Bundesliga matches so far this year so it probably isn’t much of a surprise that Dortmund were keen to hold onto the player.
Vincenzo Morabito has revealed the details of the Arsenal bid to an Italian media outlet. The self-described ‘Transfer intermediary’ said “Some time ago, I called Zork, Dortmund’s director of football, to talk about Aubameyang, but the ‘no’ was absolutely categorical.
“I know that this summer, Arsenal offered €90m for Aubameyang, but Borussia didn’t want to hear anything about it.”
We reported some time ago that Arsenal did, in fact, make a bid for the player, but that the amount offered was much lower. The reports from September indicated that the amount offered by the Gunners was €60 million and not the €90 which has been touted today.
As good as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is, a €90 million bid from a club in a different league seems like too good an offer to turn down out of hand. Sport Witness is sceptical about the claims and it’s hard to disagree. The Gunners were certainly in the market for a centre-forward but it seems unlikely that an offer of this size was made, turned down and also kept a secret for this long.