Barcelona bids to sign Aubameyang and sell Dembélé

MADRID (AP) — The last day of the winter transfer window arrived in Spain on Monday with Barcelona hoping to seal the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and find a buyer for Ousmane Dembélé.

Aubameyang arrived to finalize negotiations with the Catalan club after being stripped of the captaincy at Arsenal for disciplinary reasons, after reportedly being late returning from a personal trip.

The Gabon striker went to the African Cup of Nations but didn't play after being diagnosed with heart lesions during his recovery from the coronavirus.

Aubameyang, Arsenal’s highest-paid player, would reportedly be accepting a hefty pay cut to join Barcelona as the club doesn't have a lot of salary cap space.

It has been slowly restructuring its finances after it couldn't keep Lionel Messi at the end of last season. Barcelona recently signed Spain international Ferran Torres only after defender Samuel Umtiti agreed to a salary reduction similar to the cuts other squad players had to take last year.

The arrival of Aubameyang would help Barcelona make up for the loss of Sergio Aguero — who had to retire last year because of a heart condition — and the possible departure of Dembélé after it couldn't reach agreement for his contract extension.

Two weeks ago Barcelona told Dembélé he had to find a new team after his agents rejected several offers made to the French player over the last six months. Soccer director Mateu Alemany said the club only wanted “players who are committed to the future of the team.”

Dembélé said he would not give in to blackmail and left open the possibility of staying at Barcelona, which reportedly set a 20-million-euro ($22.3-million-euro) fee for the 24-year-old forward, who can leave for free when his