Barcelona set their sights back on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Barcelona see Arsenal striker as their Plan B.

Barcelona’s precarious financial situation as well as poor squad planning has forced them to turn their attention back on Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Inter Milan have reportedly rejected their offer of €70 million plus Junior Firpo in exchange for Lautaro Martinez thus forcing the Catalans to consider other options.

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Barcelona had been linked with Aubameyang in the past and a potential signing has gained steam given the lack of progress with regards to Martinez. Economically speaking, he would also be a more viable alternative.

However, his signing would be a mistake and signify all that is wrong at the club at the moment.

It has nothing to do with the quality of Aubameyang. He is a very good striker but he would not solve the club’s problems.

Barça have needed a new striker or, at the very least,  a suitable back-up for Luis Suarez for a long time now. They failed to find someone and is why they are scrambling to find someone now.

At 31-years-old, the Gabonese striker would only be a stopgap solution. In a year or two they’d be back in the same situation they find themselves in now.

Furthermore, Barcelona knew that signing Martinez meant that they would need to spend a significant amount of money even if Inter did agree to take on a player in a deal. They made the Argentine a priority and felt confident a deal could be reached until right now.

Barcelona seemingly passed on Timo Werner.

In the time they meandered offering different players left and right to Inter, they could have gone and signed Timo Werner. The RB Leipzig strike could have been available for less than half of what Inter are asking for Martinez.

They failed to make an offer for him and the German ended up signing for Chelsea for €53 million.

There seems to be a lack of planning and long-term preparation from the Barcelona board. The majority of players they’ve been linked to have all been older players at or over the age of 30. The squad needs rebuilding but they seem to want to go in the other direction.

Sure, they’ve signed Trincao from Braga and Pedri from Las Palmas but realistically they aren’t going to see regular playing time unless they sell players who are well past their best playing days.

From the reports coming out of Spain, Martinez still appears to be the priority but the confidence that they could get a deal done is slowly evaporating. Aubameyang would have been an interesting option when he first left Borussia Dortmund for Arsenal.

Should the club sign him now he could very well produce for at least one season. After that, they’re likely to be once again looking for a striker for the future.  As the old saying goes, those who don’t learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.