Barcelona have made Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang their top No 9 target this summer on a striker list that also includes Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino.
The LaLiga leaders want to re-sign Aubameyang, who made a lasting impression on the Barca dressing room during his spell at the club last year, as competition for Robert Lewandowski.
Manager Xavi is understood to see the Gabon striker as a slightly different option to the Poland captain, but the financial aspect of re-signing him from Chelsea will not be straightforward – and Firmino will be a free agent when his Liverpool contract expires on July 1.
Aubameyang is still not part of Chelsea’s long-term plans and they are happy for him to move on this summer in what is expected to be a significant clear-out of players due to the number of additions they made in the last two transfer windows.
Barca were keen to bring Aubameyang back to the club in January but were unable to commit the funds necessary. The club are trying to negotiate more flexibility with LaLiga for next season, which they hope will also include the return of Lionel Messi, but they remain at the limit of their financial fair play capacity as things stand.
Firmino’s status as a free agent, having announced earlier this year he would be leaving Anfield, therefore brings him into play as another serious option, along with another impending free agent in Marcus Thuram. Barca’s list also contains the 18-year-old Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque.
Aubameyang, whose situation is also being monitored by clubs in Italy and Germany, is understood to be keen on a return to Barca, and the intention is to work towards this outcome in the coming weeks, with his Chelsea contract still having a year left to run.
Source: Sky sports
In other news-Bindura University signs MOU with Indian University
The Bindura University of Science Education on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the India-based Shiksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) University, for collaboration in various academic and related areas including research and innovation.
SOA University is a private university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It was founded as the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) in 1996
The university is composed of nine degree-granting schools and colleges and has a student body of around 15,000. Many of SOA’s programs are nationally accredited, including engineering, medicine, pharmacy, business, nursing, biotechnology, science, humanities, environment, nanotechnology, materials science, agriculture, and law. Learn more
