Veteran forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang encourages one of his former Arsenal teammates to swap the Emirates Stadium for the Stade Velodrome of Marseille.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has urged his former Arsenal teammate Eddie Nketiah to join Marseille this summer.
Aubameyang scored 92 goals in 163 matches in a four-year spell with the Gunners, before he left the club for Catalan giants Barcelona in January 2022.
After spending six months in La Liga, Aubameyang returned to the Premier League to spend a season with Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea.
The Gabon international then joined Marseille ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, going on to score 30 goals and provide 11 assists in 51 competitive matches.
Despite enjoying a productive campaign, Aubameyang has opted for another change of scenery, having left Marseille for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah.
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Aubameyang encourages Nketiah to join Marseille
As a result of Aubameyang’s departure, Marseille are now looking to sign a new striker ahead of Roberto De Zerbi‘s first season in charge.
The French side are keen to secure Eddie Nketiah’s signature and have submitted an offer of €20m (£16.9m) after they failed with their initial proposal.
With Marseille pushing to sign the 25-year-old, Aubameyang was asked on X (formerly known as Twitter) to encourage Nketiah to join the Ligue 1 club.
Aubameyand simply replied: “Already done”, revealing that he has made an effort to convince his former teammate to make the move to France.
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Are Marseille close to agreeing a deal?
Although Aubameyang has done his bit, it is believed that Nketiah has already agreed personal terms to join Marseille on a five-year.
However, there is still plenty of work to be done until Nketiah can become Marseille’s latest summer signing following the arrivals of Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Lilian Brassier, Bamo Meite and Ismael Kone.
There is an expectation that the Gunners will reject Marseille’s second offer, with the €20m (£16.9m) proposal said to be well below Arsenal’s asking price.
Nevertheless, the two clubs remain in discussions and both will be keen to find a quick resolution so they can focus on their other transfer activity.
While Nketiah appears to be nearing an exit, Arsenal are set to say goodbye to another academy product, having agreed a deal to sell Emile Smith Rowe to fellow London club Fulham.
Like Nketiah, Smith Rowe will hope that a move away from the Emirates Stadium will give him the chance to enjoy regular game time.