Newcastle United have made contact with Arsenal over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, hoping to sign him on loan with an option to buy.

The Mirror report that Newcastle United have sounded out Arsenal over a potential loan for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The fellow Premier League club want to sign Aubameyang on a temporary deal at first, but with an option to make the move permanent for £20m.

The Mirror claim it seems unlikely Aubameyang will play for Arsenal again.

Newcastle are obviously hoping to use the January transfer window to improve their squad sufficiently to stay up, after which they can worry about making longer-term upgrades to their squad in the summer.

As it stands, despite the apparent promise of heavy investment from the new owners, Newcastle face the very real threat of relegation.

The side sit one point off the bottom of the table, despite many of the teams above them having played fewer games. At the halfway point in the campaign, they’re certainly in need of some help.

Aubameyang would bring goals, and he’d probably appreciate the fresh start, though joining Newcastle would be a step down and not as much of a new beginning as if he went abroad instead.

It’s not the perfect solution, particularly if Newcastle continue to struggle with relegation after Aubameyang’s arrival. He wouldn’t want to sign permanently if they went down, so that would leave him back at square one.

On the positive side for Newcastle, they’re one of the few clubs who probably could afford Aubameyang’s wages and the fee Arsenal would request. It’s just a question of whether that’s enough.