Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has confirmed that their star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is no longer available on the market. The club had given clubs a deadline to sign the Gabonese International and according to Zorc, the time has come to an end. Dortmund now don’t have any time left to search for a proper replacement for Aubameyang, therefore, the club will not sell the 28-year-old forward. per ESPN.
Kicker and WAZ reported that Dortmund — who had warned at the weekend that they had set a deadline to decide Aubameyang’s future — would only reconsider their stance in the case of an offer over €100m.
So does it help on Aubameyang’s part, if he stays at Dortmund for another season?
Well, it largely depends on the player itself. The Gabonese star striker was on fiery mood, as he stomped past two goals against his former club AC Milan in the recent International Champions Cup. Aubameyang was looking very happy to play for his club and was definitely in the mood to score more.
He first converted a penalty, which was won by Christian Pulisic, with a confident strike past the AC Milan goalkeeper. Then in the second half, Auba netted his second of the game, when he tapped home a cross from Pulisic, after a brilliant counter attack, which caught Milan on their heels.
So we can definitely tell, that the highly rated forward is not deteriorating anytime soon. In fact, Auba looked more focused and even dropped deep to link up with the other midfielders, which has grown to be quite unusual with the Gabonese in recent times.
The fact that Aubameyang is staying at Dortmund next season can only be a positive for both the player and the club. Firstly, Aubameyang will have another season to prove his credential as a legit sharpshooter. He might once again give Lewandowski a tough run for the Torjagerkanone next season.
Also, he will get to play Champions League football next season, something he wouldn’t have gotten had he moved to Milan earlier this week or even China for that matter. Another good thing is that he is guaranteed to start in almost every game for BVB, and hopefully, won’t have any difficulties settling under new manager Peter Bosz.
For Dortmund, it will also be a boon for the club, as they can have more time to nail down a proper replacement in the transfer market. The Black and Yellows were reportedly looking at Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud, as potential Auba replacement, but he doesn’t seem like to be a long term solution for the Bundesliga outfit. They are expected to go after a striker relatively young next summer.
Most importantly, Aubameyang’s departure could have created a huge displeasure among the fans and the fact that Dortmund are in a state of transition right now, it will be extremely important to have a clear source of goals, which they will already have with Aubameyang staying at the club.
On the negative side of things, the former Saint Etienne forward will have to wait another year in order to gain more fame and of course, earn a bit more cash. Frankly speaking, maybe that’s what he really wanted, otherwise he really had no reason to leave Borussia Dortmund.
Speaking of Dortmund themselves, they can’t be quite sure if Aubameyang can once again score 30 goals in a season, meaning his price is sure to decrease next season and the value could come down by some margin, although not drastically.
Also, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is yet to perform on the biggest stage in European football – that is the Champions League. Even though he has been quite good in the group stages, Auba often struggles in the knockout rounds.
So it’s a must for Dortmund to sign a decent alternative to Auba, especially with Adrian Ramos leaving for China and Alexander Isak, being too young to take the burden right now.
Overall, it’s not entirely a bad thing for Auba to stay another season in the Bundesliga. The city and the fans love him and I’m sure the Bundesliga does too. If he can manage to help Dortmund give a tough fight to Champions Bayern, then he will automatically come out as a club icon and surely one of the best strikers to have played for the club in the 21st century.
