Newcastle United are lining up St Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as their Plan B in the January transfer window if they fail to land preferred striking target Loic Remy according to the Mirror.
Newcastle don’t want to find themselves in the same position as the summer, where they baulked at the prices quoted for their top targets and ended up with very little.
The Magpies are wary of Marseille hiking up the price for Remy to the region of £15 million and are thus looking for alternative strikers.
A Newcastle source explained to the Mirror: “When Mike Ashley decides what a player is worth, he never budges. Newcastle have a valuation of Remy and will stick to it. They have a Plan B, if it doesn’t work out.”
And that Plan B is thought to be Aubameyang who has been in good form in Ligue 1 this season.
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23-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined St Etienne from Serie A giants AC Milan back in 2010 and has impressed in French football.
The 6ft 1in striker has scored eight goals this season, placing him fifth in the top scorers list and giving him a record of better than a goal every other game.
Despite being born in France, Aubameyang plays his international football for Gabon and has already racked up over two dozen caps.
The highlight of his career to date was the 2012 African Cup of Nations, as he scored three goals for the co-hosts and helped them reach the knockout stages.
However, for those of you worried he might be heading off to South Africa next year fear not, as Gabon were knocked out in the qualification stages by Togo.
St Etienne are understandably reluctant to sell their star player, but with Newcastle, Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa all showing an interest, it is thought a bid of £12m would be more than enough.
This is what Aubameyang has been up to this season…
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