Newcastle have “every chance” to complete a shock transfer swoop for former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January.
That is according to ex-Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant, who believes Aubameyang could quit the north London club if he isn’t playing regular first-team football.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stripped Aubameyang of the Gunners captaincy in December 2021 after a disciplinary breach.
Aubameyang, who is under contract with Arsenal until 2023, has not featured for his side since then and his future at the Gunners has been plunged into doubt.
According to reports, Arsenal are prepared to sell the 32-year-old striker and both Newcastle and Barcelona have been linked with Aubameyang.
Newcastle are fighting for Premier League survival this season, but the club have the financial power to pull off a deal for Aubameyang after their Saudi Arabia-backed takeover.
Pennant has admitted there is “not really much coming back” for Aubameyang after he was dropped from the Arsenal captaincy.
“As a professional footballer, it doesn’t matter, you want to play football,” he told Stadium Astro.
“And, if it is not happening at Arsenal, he won’t want to sit there on the weekend watching his teammates play while he is sat at home, he will want to play football.
“He’s a great player and he will want to showcase that. It could be a chance to get another big move off the back of that. Getting stripped of a captaincy, there is not really much coming back from that.
“We know he is not going to be a starter, we know he’s not going to get much game time. There is every chance this Newcastle deal could come off, for sure.”
Newcastle have reportedly made an approach for Aubameyang and are prepared to take the Arsenal outcast on a loan deal, with the option to make the transfer permanent.
Arsenal signed Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund in 2018 in a then-club-record deal worth £56m.
The Gabon captain has scored an impressive 92 times in 163 appearances for Arsenal and lifted an FA Cup during his time with the Gunners.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz