Bharath Rammr
Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that they would be ready to consider offers for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang if a bid in the region of £68.5 million was made, as per the reports from THE SUN. Manchester United are thought to have one eye on the striker, who could be a potential replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Even though Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann remains the firm favourite to become Manchester United’s next signing in the forward department, United are also having alternate options should they encounter any problem in the signing of the French forward.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is at 27 years of age, and it remains to be seen if any club would be making an offer for a player who may not have a resale value. One of the main reasons behind going after Griezmann is the combination of youth and experience that the 25-year-old can provide. However, he is expected to be substantially more expensive with recent reports claiming that the player would cost in the region of £95 million – his release clause. It was earlier thought that his release clause was at around £86 million – just shy of the £89 million paid for Paul Pogba last summer – but the latest reports could be a major blow for United.
As it stands, Griezmann would be £25 million more expensive than Aubameyang. For this price, United would be getting a player who is in the mould of a Rooney and not Ibrahimovic. Aubameyang, however, can also play the physical side of the game due to his presence on the pitch. He has been in impeccable form this season with 16 league goals in 15 appearances. An even better statistic to demonstrate his quality would be his four Champions League goals in five appearances. Borussia Dortmund admitted that the player is starting to become too big for the club and may eventually leave for a bigger club in Europe. The club’s chief executive chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, was quoted by Kicker TV as saying (via Eurosport):
“We can never guarantee that a player will stay with Borussia Dortmund forever, but our strength is to always find new solutions.
“With an €80m offer, I would be thinking about Rauball and Zorc. If we had one (an offer), we would have to get together with Pierre-Emerick.
“We always have to differentiate between situations where there is such an offer, but we have no pressure… I would prefer it if no offer came.”
Aubameyang moved to the club in the summer of 2013 for €13 million. The current valuation of the player by the German club is €80 million, although it is highly likely that they would settle for a figure of around €65 million. A well-travelled striker, Aubameyang is considered as a late bloomer in the world of football. He made his senior debut with Italian Serie a Giants AC Milan in 2008, but there were numerous spells on loan to the likes of Lille, Monaco, and St Etienne before a move to the latter was made permanent in 2011.
Yet, he has had the longest spell and the most number of first team opportunities for Dortmund.
