Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Next Club Odds - 13/04/20

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been the talk of the town in recent times, as the potential increases over a transfer away from Arsenal. The Gabon international has been arguably the Gunners' best player in the post-Arsene Wenger era, becoming only the third Arsenal man in history to win the Premier League Golden Boot, after Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie.

Indeed, Aubameyang did share the title with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane last year, but his 22 in 36 games in a squad much weaker than Liverpool's, shows just how good has been in the past year.

This season, only Jamie Vardy is ahead of the 30-year-old and considering the Leicester City star has slowed down to almost a complete stop in front of goal since December, it's fair to say Aubameyang is on course for consecutive awards.

This, naturally, gets the European heavyweights watching. The gargantuan clubs such as Real Madrid are looking to improve on weak signings such as Luka Jovic, whilst Antoine Greizmann hasn't hit the heights expected at Barcelona, forcing both Spanish giants to take a look.

At the same time, Manchester United are still looking for an elite forward, with Romelu Lukaku departing for Inter Milan last summer, without a replacement.

Lets look at the Paddy Power odds for where the Arsenal man could end up next.

Surprisingly, it is Barcelona leading the way for Aubameyang at 15/8. The La Liga champions have uncharacteristically splashed the cash in the last seven years, spending way over £1bn since signing Neymar for around £73m in 2013.

For a club usually with faith in youth, seeing their products such as Xavi and Iniesta move on have forced their hand in almighty signings. Now, it seems as if they wont stop with signing Aubameyang.

As alluded to, Griezmann's life at the Camp Nou hasn't been plain sailing, scoring 14 goals in 37 games. Whilst this isn't a dramatic statistic and reads at just short of half a goal a game, only eight of them have come in La Liga from 26 games.

At the same time, considering the Frenchman is the all-time top scorer for Atletico Madrid, to turn over just 14 goals thus far in his debut season will most definitely not be accepted by the fans or the Barcelona hierarchy.

It is for this reason that Aubameyang could be the next star signing for the club. On one hand, Financial Fair Play may get involved if this transfer surpasses £100m, which could restrict the club. Although, on the other hand, they've made it clear they will easily write a blank cheque for whoever is at the helm, to fend off Real Madrid.

Indeed, it is tough to see this one going ahead with Griezmann at the club and considering Barcelona's incredible spend in recent years. However, no doubt Aubameyang would consider such an incredible move if it comes his way.

Similar to their El Clasico rivals, Madrid have spent a couple of quid in the last seven years. Although, for Los Blancos, it is certainly more common to do so than Barcelona. From snatching up the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldo in the Galácticos era, to breaking the world-record transfer three times in four seasons with the signings of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

In fact, since acquiring the services of Figo in 2000, Madrid have broken the transfer record five times, so, it seems to be in their nature to sign anyone, no matter the costs.

Now, it could be Aubameyang next on this astonishing list. The former Saint-Etienne star has proven with his records in England, France and Germany he can easily acclimatise to a new environment, bagging 141 goals for Borussia Dortmund in just 213 games. In truth, only Robert Lewandowksi has come close or surpassed him in recent years in Germany, which puts the Arsenal man in the most elite of categories, when speaking of goalscorers

Whilst Aubameyang is only two years younger than Karim Benzema, it's two years that could result in trophies, should Madrid beat Barcelona to the punch - something they have barely done in the past decade.

At odds of 4/1, this is the most justified move for both club and player; Madrid are no stranger to spending; Aubameyang wants that silverware. Indeed, odds are lower than that of Barcelona's, but, this is where our money is at for the French-born's next club.

As is the case with any superstar signing, there is the link to Manchester United. Whether it's Raul in the early 2000s, Wesley Sneijder every year since, or Bale each week over the past five seasons. If there is a star out there, be sure the talk will arise of a move to the Red Devils.

Lately, however, some of these discussions have been slightly more justified and fueled more on reason that hope. The likes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Luis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have splashed the cash trying to rebuild the club, which has forced many expensive signings. From Angel Di Maria under van Gaal, to Paul Pogba with Mourinho and Harry Maguire under Solskajer - the price tags have continued to rise.

Whilst, yes, there is the obvious trend of the owners refusing to sign so many names. Although, at the same time, only rivals Manchester City have spent more in the past decade, with United even surpassing a transfer-built club like Chelsea in this regard.

There is also, of course, the link between the two clubs when swapping strikers. Van Persie in 2012, Danny Welbeck in 2014, and the Henrikh Mkhitaryan-Alexis Sanchez swap deal most recently.

Indeed, this one could be very Van Persie-esque; an elite striker winning Golden Boot awards makes the move to win titles. Although, United aren't exactly winning titles anymore, which sort of loosens their grip on such transfers now.

Plus, if they are to learn from past mistakes, Arsenal surely won't sell for the short price of £24m, as they did for the Dutchman. Although, with Harry Kane expected to cost in excess of £100m, Solskjaer's head might be turned elsewhere in north London to the cheaper option on the red side, which may be worth a shout at 9/2.