Borussia Dortmund will consider bids of €80 million for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, club chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has confirmed
Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has named the asking price for the club’s star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, revealing that an offer of €80 million for the Real Madrid and Manchester City target will be considered.
As reported by Goal, Watzke said in an interview with Kicker TV: “We can never guarantee that a player will stay with Borussia Dortmund forever, but our strength is to always find new solutions. Auba was our alternative to ‘the world ending’ after [Robert] Lewandowski’s departure [to Bayern Munich].”
Watzke also stated that any bids of €80 million will trigger serious discussions with Abameyang and the club hierarchy about his future at Dortmund, but he would prefer to not sell the Gabon international.
He added: “With an €80 million offer, I would be thinking about [club president] Reinhard Rauball and [sporting director] Michael Zorc – if we had one [an offer], we would have to get together with Pierre-Emerick [to discuss it]. I would prefer it if no offer came.”
Aubameyang started his senior career at AC Milan in 2008, but could never manage to play for the Rossoneri. After four loan spells in France, the Gabonese striker joined Saint-Etienne on a permanent basis in 2011.
Aubameyang subsequently became an integral part of the Ligue 1 club and in his two years with the side, the 27-year-old quickly made a name for himself for being a striker possessing blistering pace and a dangerous eye for goal, scoring 41 goals in 97 appearances in two seasons.
Aubameyang’s exploits for Saint-Etienne were noted by many, and several clubs registered an interest in him before he chose to move to Borussia Dortmund in 2013. Ever since the move to Westfalenstadion, Aubameyang’s stock has been rising consistently and now the star forward is one of the most prolific strikers in European football.
In over three years with Die Schwarzgelben, Aubameyang has scored 116 goals in 198 matches in all competitions. And his scoring rate has improved considerably in the last two seasons, as Aubameyang finished second in the top scorers list in Bundesliga last season with 25 goals.
This season though, Aubameyang has romped to the top of the goalscoring charts, with 16 goals in Bundesliga, and 20 in 22 games in all competitions.
Needless to say, Aubameyang has been heavily linked with several clubs in recent months, with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City notably being the two clubs who have been closely linked with the Gabonese.
Aubameyang has also previously admitted that it would be a dream to move to the Santiago Bernabeu, providing more impetus to Real Madrid to make a move for him. And Watzke’s words could provide Los Blancos even more motivation to make a move for their target man.
For now though, the prolific striker is set to re-join Borussia Dortmund, following Gabon’s elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations this week.
