Barcelona are willing to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea.
And that could mean Aubayemang returns to the Premier League just seven months after Arsenal allowed him to leave on a free transfer. The Spanish giants are desperate to balance the books after bringing in Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha to the Nou Camp this summer.
Barcelona boss Xavi does not want Aubemeyang to leave but Lewandowski’s arrival has increased the competition for places. Chelsea do want to strengthen their forward line and Thomas Tuchel worked with Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund but have not pressed the green light on the deal.
They are also ready to hijack Manchester United ’s move for Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong who is definitely surplus to requirements - but his departure has stalled for weeks.
United are still determined to sign £70m-rated de Jong but the deal is being held up over a £15m contract wrangle as Barcelona owe the Dutch midfielder wages which he agreed to defer from the pandemic.
The De Jong saga has only increased the pressure on Barcelona’s finances and they cannot afford to be caught in another embarrassing stand-off like last year when they had to let Lionel Messi go to Paris Saint Germain to cut the wage bill.
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They have done several commercial and TV deals this summer to try and bankroll a squad overhaul - but they still cannot afford to keep all of their big earners.
That is why a player may have to be sacrificed with Aubameyang being mentioned in conversations and he may be open to a return to London.
They also want to offload Memphis Depay this summer who is surplus to requirements after they signed Raphinha and kept France star Ousmane Dembélé after signing him to a new contract after his last deal expired.
