Arsenal: 6 transfer destinations for Aubameyang in January

5. Newcastle United

The big boys in all of this. The footballing powerhouse with the history, appeal and world class squad that will convince any player that their future lies with them. It is, of course, Newcastle United.

That is, a Newcastle side who’ve already made their move to sign Aubameyang in this window.

Said to have made contact over a proposed loan deal that includes an option to buy for £20m at the end of the season, as it stands that looks about the best bet Arsenal have of moving the former captain on without having to pay him or a portion of his wages.

£20m is bite your hand off kind of money, especially if his salary is covered on top, although the ‘option’ to buy is unlikely to be activated if Newcastle stay in the Premier League as they’ll surely be eyeing a younger striker elsewhere come then.

The biggest sticking point in Newcastle signing Aubameyang, however, is that there is little chance he will have any desire of moving there.

With Champions League clubs in beautiful European locations, the idea of a relegation battle at a club with a dreadfully poor squad is unlikely to sing to him. Already on crazy money, it’s hard to envisage there being any fee that would convince the Gabon international to swap what he has for a dogfight at the foot of the table.

It’s a shame, of course, because no other side has the financial clout to take Aubameyang off Arsenal’s hands and make it seem like the whole saga never happened.

Moving Aubameyang on is going to be very, very hard and/or expensive.

Newcastle likelihood: 2/10