Barcelona nearing agreement to sign Arsenal superstar on loan: Reports 

Barcelona are close to signing Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on loan for the rest of the season. The Athletic reports that talks are currently in advanced stages, although a deal has yet to be finalized.

The stumbling block in negotiations is Aubameyang's wages, which is roughly £350,000-a-week.

It's not been decided who's going to pay how much of the salary. Arsenal want the Catalans to cover the full wage as they won't be receiving a loan fee. There's no obligation or option for the latter to make the move permanent either.

But complicating the matter further is Barcelona's poor financial state.

The club posted record debts last year and needed Samuel Umtiti to take a pay cut in order to register Ferran Torres this month. They also recently brought Adama Traore back to Camp Nou from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Yet, the report says that Aubameyang should complete the switch by Monday, when the winter transfer window officially shuts.

Barcelona led the race after Juventus pulled out

Juventus were also in the race for the Gabonese striker as Alvaro Morata was linked with a Camp Nou move instead.

But the Serie A giants signed Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina instead. The Spaniard will now reportedly stay in Turin to complete a front-three with the Serb and Paulo Dybala.

It left Barcelona as the frontrunners in the race for Aubameyang's signature as the club had reportedly been courting him for a long time.

They were in the hunt for a new man to lead their line following Sergio Aguero's shock retirement with a heart problem earlier this season.

Martin Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong are also in the squad but they've been highly unreliable so far.

Aubameyang's arrival should not only resolve their issue but also water down some of the tension between the player and his current outfit. He was stripped of the captaincy in December following a disciplinary breach and head coach Mikel Arteta has ostracized him from the squad ever since. It left his future at the Emirates in limbo as the former Saint-Étienne hitman's days in north London seemed numbered.

He joined Arsenal for a then-club-record fee of £56 million on deadline day in January 2018 from Borussia Dortmund and became an instant hit.

Aubameyang currently boasts 92 goals and 21 assists in 163 appearances across all competitions. He has lifted one FA Cup and Community Shield respectively and won one Premier League Golden Boot as well.