Everton lost 3-2 in the Premier League to Arsenal on Saturday – and it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who netted the winner at the Emirates.
Sam Allardyce claims that Everton were willing to pay £60 million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before the prolific striker joined Premier League rivals Arsenal instead, speaking to talkSPORT.
With just 18 months remaining on the contract of one of Europe’s most lethal marksmen, palms are getting a little sweaty in North London.
Barcelona have already confirmed their interest in bringing Aubameyang to the Camp Nou (The Mail) and, with Arsenal almost certain to miss out on Champions League football next season, a Gabonese goal-machine might be getting itchy feet again.
Aubameyang’s unbridled ambition saw him force a move out of Borussia Dortmund two years ago and the 30-year-old has proven to be a revelation in the Premier League ever since, netting 49 times in 67 top-flight starts.
And, according to Allardyce, Everton missed out on the chance to land a truly world-class attacker for what would have been a club-record transfer fee before he established himself as arguably Arsenal’s most fearsome forward since a certain Thierry Henry.
“I tried to buy him at Everton, it was about £60 million,” the former England boss, who was prowling the touchline at Goodison Park during 2017/18, told Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast (24 February, 8.30am).
“We were searching for goals since Lukaku went. (I talked to him) only through his agent. He was that desperate to get away from the Bundesliga.”
Ironically enough, it was Aubameyang who scored the winning goal during Sunday’s thrilling Premier League clash between The Gunners and The Toffees at the Emirates. While Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed two glorious chances for Carlo Ancelotti’s side late on, Arsenal were once again indebted to a man with ice in his veins.
But if another heroic display proved anything, it’s just how reliant the London giants are on a man whose future is now more uncertain than ever.
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