Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could return to the Borussia Dortmund squad as his potential move to Arsenal looks in doubt.
Aubameyang had been left out of Dortmund’s recent squads due to ill-discipline and Arsenal’s ongoing interest.
In the week since their Bundesliga game against Hertha Berlin, little progress has been made on a transfer.
According to Dortmund manager Peter Stöger, the 28-year-old has been working hard in training and could make their squad for their game against Freiburg on Saturday.
“The impression he has made over the past few weeks has been good so far. If everything continues in the same fashion, then I would say he qualifies for the squad this weekend,” Stöger told BVB.de.
Kicker reported earlier this week that the striker’s potential move to Arsenal had stalled.
Dortmund were said to be annoyed at Arsenal’s sluggish approach to the deal, to the point that the deal itself could be under threat.
Bild have followed up that report with their own, stating that that the transfer now may not happen at all.
They report that the two clubs are still £13m apart in their valuations, and that Arsenal will need to get a move on if they want the deal done this month.
Arsenal sent a delegation of Ivan Gazidis, Sven Mislintat and Huss Fahmy to Dortmund to work on the deal.
Coming back empty handed would be a huge disappointment, especially since Dortmund are open to a sale.
Meanwhile, at his pre-Swansea press conference on Friday morning, Arsene Wenger was quizzed about the deal.
"I don't know, it is still possible but we are far from being closed" Wenger talking about Auba without saying he's talking about Auba
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) January 26, 2018
When pushed on BvB wanting Olivier Giroud, Wenger also added, “I want Olivier to stay.
“I just told you if nobody comes in nobody goes out. “Maybe one or two young players out on loan somewhere. Experienced side of the squad will remain the same unless someones comes in.
“I cannot tell you more [about Aubameyang]. We’ve nothing to announce today and at the moment we stay where we are.
“We have added [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, lost Alexis and our squad is stable. If anything else happens I’d say I don’t know. It’s still possible but we’re far from being close.”