Chelsea and Manchester City have reportedly been boosted by the news that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ready to leave Borussia Dortmund next summer.
The Gabon international has been a prolific scorer for the Bundesliga giants since joining them in 2013, scoring 87 goals in 152 appearances for the club.
According to The Mirror, he is set to be allowed to leave at the end of the season with Dortmund rejecting interest from the Premier League this past summer.
It’s added that the 27-year-old is valued at £65m, and so should either Chelsea or City be keen on wrapping up a deal, it will unsurprisingly come at a cost.
Nevertheless, as noted by The Mirror, Aubameyang has made no secret of his desire to play for Real Madrid, and so it remains to be seen whether or not the La Liga giants enter the race ahead of next summer and steal a march on their rivals for his signature.
Dortmund opted to refuse to sell the striker this year having lost influential figures in Mats Hummels and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Bayern Munich and Manchester United respectively.
However, Thomas Tuchel invested heavily in talented young players over the summer, and he’ll hope that the club now have a squad full of individuals ready to lead them forward in the long-term future which will undoubtedly make them feel a little more comfortable about selling Aubameyang if the right offer comes in.
Dortmund sit in third place in the Bundesliga table after six games, four points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, and so if this is to be Aubameyang’s last season in Germany, he will undoubtedly hope to cut that lead and fire his side to silverware prior to leaving.