- Tottenham have been offered the transfer of Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi
- This would have been as part of a direct swap including Fernando Llorente
- Batshuayi has rejected the move, giving Arsenal hope over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
- READ MORE: Arsenal offered surprise transfer of Chelsea star as alternative to £25million man
Tottenham have been offered the transfer of Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi in a move that could have completely ruined Arsenal’s plans for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
According to a complicated report from BBC Sport’s David Ornstein, Chelsea were not keen on Arsenal’s asking price for Olivier Giroud, so proposed a swap deal with Spurs instead.
This would have been a direct exchange of Batshuayi and Fernando Llorente, though Ornstein claims the Belgian rejected the chance to move to Tottenham for the moment.
While there could be further twists in the final hours of what has been a hectic transfer window already, for the time being it looks like Arsenal still have hope over signing Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund.
Merry-go-round: Giroud was lined up to replace Aubameyang at Dortmund then got offer from Chelsea & was keen, so Dortmund turned to Batshuayi. But Chelsea baulked at Giroud fee so discussed Batshuayi/Llorente swap with Spurs, which nobody agreed on. Deadlock #AFC #BVB #CFC THFC pic.twitter.com/HA6ymZ6IiN
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) January 29, 2018
The Gabon international seems the ideal choice for Arsenal to replace Alexis Sanchez after his move to Manchester United left them a little light up front.
However, as Ornstein suggests, the Aubameyang deal hinges on Dortmund signing a replacement, which could be Batshuayi.
But that move can only go through if Chelsea replace Batshuayi with Giroud, so Arsenal will likely need to lower their own demands for the Frenchman to get their own signing over the line.
If Batshuayi and Llorente were to end up swapping places that would surely be the biggest blow for Arsenal as Dortmund may be unable to find a replacement for Aubameyang.