Barcelona ‘are willing to include £145m flop Philippe Coutinho in a deal to lure Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the club this summer’… as Catalans eye more signings despite huge £1.15bn debt
- Barcelona are eyeing a move for Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
- The Catalans are willing to include midfielder Philippe Coutinho in the deal
- Aubameyang missed Arsenal’s season opener against Brentford due to illness
- President Joan Laporta revealed La Liga side are £1.15billion in debt on Monday
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be on his way out of the club with Barcelona interested and reportedly willing to offer former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho as a makeshift in the deal.
Despite Joan Laporta’s revelation of Barcelona’s £1.15bn debt, the La Liga side are looking to strengthen their attack following the departure of Lionel Messi to PSG.
The Catalans have turned their attention to Aubameyang according to Sky Sports and are looking to include wantaway Brazilian Coutinho in the deal.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be on his way to Barcelona according to latest reports
Aubameyang joined Arsenal in January 2018 for a then club-record fee of £60m. He has scored 85 goals in 148 games – helping the side to FA Cup success in 2020.
The 32-year old had a less successful time last season following his lucrative contract extension and scored just 15 goals in all competitions.
Philippe Coutinho has endured a tough time since his £145m move to Barcelona in 2018
Barca are desperate to replace the goals of departed talisman Messi, while new signing Sergio Aguero is expected to miss the first nine league games of the campaign as well as two Champions league games due to a groin injury.
Arsenal are keen to retain Aubameyang though question marks have now started to appear over his future at the Emirates.
He missed the defeat to Brentford on Friday due to illness but his future has been uncertain following last season’s disappointment when the Gunners missed out on European football for the first time in 25 years.
New Barca signing Sergio Aguero is ruled out until November due to a groin injury
As for Coutinho, since his £145m move from Liverpool – making him the second most expensive player of all time behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe – he has failed to live up to expectations, scoring 24 goals in 90 games.
Arsenal are currently in the market for attacking midfielders and the Catalans making the offer of Coutinho would also lower their crippling wage bill whilst reinforcing their own attack with an out-and-out striker.
The north London side take on Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday and manager Mikel Arteta will hope to have both Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette back available.
