Arsenal’s £55million signing of Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will only be sanctioned once London rivals Chelsea secure Olivier Giroud and loan out Michy Batshuayi.
In a complicated chain of sale, Dortmund insist they will only sign off the 28-year-old Aubameyang’s release once they have a replacement. They have targeted Batshuayi on loan and Chelsea will agree to that if they can sign Giroud.
On Monday, it looked as if Chelsea were using that to try to drive down the price for the Frenchman. Chelsea have offered £15m plus add-ons but are still short of Arsenal’s £30m valuation as the Gunners demand a premium price for selling to their London rivals.
The website claim that the Blues are the team most interested in signing the 21-year-old, with Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Sassuolo also said to be in the frame.
Whether Kapacak is being lined up to become part of Thomas Tuchel’s first-team setup, it is doubtful. The Turkish Under 21 international had an excellent season for Bursaspor, scoring seven goals and providing seven assists in 32 league appearances, but they are hardly numbers that would suggest he could become an integral player for the Blues.
Chelsea do have a tendency to sign up young talent before immediately sending them back out on loan to continue their development. One of the more recent examples is Mario Pasalic, who joined from Hajduk Split in 2014 but he was sold last summer to Atalanta for £13m, without playing a game for the London club.