Recent reports have suggested that London giants Arsenal, a club believed to be still in the market for a world-class striker, have identified Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as their main target.
The BVB forward has been creating waves in Europe this season, as his excellent form in front of goal has interest in the 26-year-old coming from left, right, and center.
He is the Bundesliga’s current top-scorer, with 18 goals, having found the back of the net 23 times in 22 appearances in all competitions, as separate reports also claim Liverpool and Man United are also in the toss for the former Saint-Etienne ace’s signature.
Now, though, BVB chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has come out, issuing a statement in response to the recent exit rumors. However, he gave a rather confusing, mixed message.
Whilst Watzke opened the door for the attacker's exit, claiming no player is bigger than the club and that the Bundesliga giants have managed to cope with the loss of better players, he also ruled out selling Aubameyang, insisting these are merely rumors similar to those that linked Hummels with Man United.
Speaking to Bild, he said: "One must never make the mistake to believe that a club like BVB is dependent on a player. We are not dependent on anyone.
"When Robert Lewandowski left, we found [a solution] and he even has three more goals than Lewa.
"We are now so well positioned that we can offer alternative solutions again and again.
"[The goal is that] our team stays together. We do not have as much money as the top stars in the Premier League, but we have a lot of other things to offer - for example our players were able to celebrate Christmas."
"Last year around this time, many journalists wrote that our top players would be gone.
"Hummels was at Manchester United. Gundogan was with [Real] Madrid, Manchester or Barcelona. And where are they now? Still with us!"
Could this possibly be a strategy to reel in higher bids for the striker?
