Transfer roundup: Arsenal closing on Aubameyang, deal could depend on Chelsea, Giroud

Welcome to FC Yahoo‘s daily transfer roundup, where we’ll dissect the January market, assess the credibility of gossip, and discuss the likelihood that deals come to pass. Every day, we’ll split the various links between players and clubs into four categories to sift through the BS and direct your attention to the reports that deserve it.

Here’s the transfer roundup for Monday, January 29:

MONDAY’S/WEEKEND’S DONE DEALS

Daniel Sturridge | Liverpool —> West Brom — It’s quite the fall from grace for a player who, just a few years ago, was the second-best striker in the Premier League. And he’s still only 28. But he needs minutes – minutes he wasn’t getting at Liverpool. He joins the Baggies on loan until the end of the season, and should get the opportunity to prove his undeniable talent hasn’t evaporated.

Gerard Deulofeu | Barcelona —> Watford — Talk about a step down … the 23-year-old Spanish winger joins the struggling Hornets on loan until the end of the campaign.

Miguel Layun | Porto —> Sevilla — The Mexican international moves to Spain on loan, but with an option for Sevilla to buy.

Pietro Pellegri | Genoa —> Monaco — One of Italy’s top youngsters, and the price – $24.6 million – backs that up. The 16-year-old striker had been linked with Juventus, but will instead move abroad to further his development.

Baba Rahman | Chelsea —> Schalke — The 23-year-old left back heads back to Schalke on an 18-month loan.

Diafra Sakho | West Ham —> Rennes — Never found anything resembling consistent form or consistent playing time in London, and will move back to France for $12.4 million, three-and-a-half years after the Hammers bought him from Metz.

Leonardo Ulloa | Leicester City —> Brighton — Ulloa was, what, the eighth striker at Leicester? If you count Damarai Gray and new signings? He had to move. He’ll go to Brighton – back to the club with which he made his name in English football – on loan to try to hang around in the Premier league.

Ali Gabr | Zamalek —> West Brom — A loan with an option to buy for the Egyptian defender.

REPORTS

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund —> Arsenal — It appears Arsenal will get in well under the deadline. Several reports late Sunday and early Monday suggest an agreement is in place, with the transfer fee somewhere in the region of $80 million, an Arsenal club record.

The final obstacle is reportedly Dortmund’s procurement of a replacement – which, according to Bild, will be Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi on loan until season’s end. Olivier Giroud has reportedly opted to stay in London.

Michy Batshuayi | Chelsea —> Borussia Dortmund — But there are some hang-ups. If Batshuayi is going to Germany, Chelsea needs a backup striker. The Edin Dzeko deal looks unlikely. So the Blues have turned back to Arsenal to complete the triangle.

Olivier Giroud | Arsenal —> Chelsea — Chelsea reportedly agreed to buy Giroud from Arsenal for $21.1 million plus add-ons. But, according to the BBC’s David Ornstein, that deal isn’t done. And it hold the key to the other two getting done as well. Here’s Ornstein’s breakdown:

Chelsea has all the leverage here. The Aubameyang deal is the big one. Arsenal wants him and needs him. If it isn’t getting him without Giroud moving to Stamford Bridge, the Gunners will likely be forced to sell at Chelsea’s price.

Aymeric Laporte | Athletic Bilbao —> Manchester City — Bilbao announced Monday that Laporte’s release clause – $80.4 million – has been triggered, and his contract, therefore, has been annulled. He is free to move to Manchester, and City will presumably announce the deal in the next 24 hours.

Lucas Moura | PSG —> Tottenham — Spurs have been edging closer and closer to a deal for the 25-year-old Brazilian winger, and now have reportedly agreed a fee of $35.2 million.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Manchester United —> Los Angeles Galaxy — Yes, you’ve heard this one before. But ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle cited a source who said a deal is “the furthest along it has ever been.” Ibrahimovic re-signed with United after recovering from knee surgery, but has missed more time through injury since his return. And his playing time could dwindle even more with Alexis Sanchez in town.

The Galaxy, meanwhile, need to match both the ambition and glamor of MLS expansion side LAFC. Ibrahimovic would accomplish that. He’d top off an already potent attacking lineup, and bring Thierry Henry-esque cred to the Galaxy brand. We’ll write more extensively on Ibra if and when the deal is confirmed.

Emerson Palmieri | Roma —> Chelsea — Gianluca De Marzio says it’s a done deal, and so do others. The fee is reportedly $24.7 million for the left back. But, per Di Marzio, Edin Dzeko’s rumored move to Chelsea is off.

Arthur | Gremio —> Barcelona — Reports from Spain suggest the midfielder, who was pictured in a Barcelona jersey almost two months ago, will agree to join the La Liga leaders prior to the January deadline, and then will arrive in Catalonia over summer. But conflicting reports suggest Barca and Gremio haven’t yet agreed to a fee, and then other European clubs are still in on the negotiations.

Roque Mesa | Swansea —> Sevilla — A loan move is reportedly close. Mesa hasn’t made an impact in Wales since his summer arrival.

RUMORS

Alisson | Roma —> Liverpool — Italian outlet Il Tempo reported that Liverpool had a bid knocked back. We have no clue whether that’s a reputable report or not. It’s not out of the question that Liverpool could pursue a deadline day deal for the Brazilian keeper, but it seems more likely the Reds will make their goalkeeper move in the summer.

Marcelo Brozovic | Inter Milan —> Everton — This rumor is courtesy of Corriere dello Sport. It includes a line that Davy Klaassen could be used as a makeweight. It makes no sense for Inter and Brozovic, unless the Toffees are willing to pay him absurd wages.

Morgan Schneiderlin | Everton —> West Ham — The French midfielder is reportedly a Hammers target.

Badou Ndiaye | Galatasaray —> Inter Milan, Stoke City — Both clubs are chasing a deal in the region of $21 million for the Senegalese midfielder, per Sky Sports.

Graziano Pelle | Shandong Luneng —> West Ham — Seems unlikely due to Pelle’s lucrative salary in China, but West Ham is reportedly pursuing the former Southampton striker.

Fedor Smolov | Krasnodar —> West Ham — Per Sky Sports, West Ham wants to bring the 27-year-old Russian forward in on a loan with an option to buy. Krasnodar would prefer an outright purchase.

Lazar Markovic | Liverpool —> Swansea — Markovic hasn’t sniffed the field at Liverpool in forever, and is reportedly the subject of interest from the Swans.

Andre Ayew | West Ham —> Swansea — So is Ayew, and that deal is close, according to ESPN.

JANUARY’S TOP DONE DEALS

(Chronological order)

Daniel Sturridge | Liverpool —> West Brom (loan)
Gerard Deulofeu | Barcelona —> Watford (loan)
Miguel Layun | Porto —> Sevilla (loan)
Pietro Pellegri | Genoa —> Monaco ($24.6 million)
Baba Rahman | Chelsea —> Schalke (loan)
Diafra Sakho | West Ham —> Rennes ($12.4 million)
Ali Gabr | Zamalek —> West Brom (loan)
Leonardo Ulloa | Leicester City —> Brighton (loan)
Joao Mario | Inter Milan —> West Ham (loan)
Nikola Maksimovic | Napoli —> Spartak Moscow (loan)
Guido Carrillo | Monaco —> Southampton ($27.2 million)
Gabriel Barbosa | Inter Milan —> Santos (loan)
Neven Subotic | Borussia Dortmund —> Saint-Etienne (free)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla | Montreal Impact —> Barcelona (undisclosed)
Axel Tuanzebe | Manchester United —> Aston Villa (loan)
Lassana Diarra | PSG (free)
Aaron Lennon | Everton —> Burnley (undisclosed)
Kenedy | Chelsea —> Newcastle (loan)
Jaroslaw Jach | Zaglebie Lubin —> Crystal Palace ($2 million)
Javier Mascherano | Barcelona —> Habei ($12.3 million)
Rafinha | Barcelona —> Inter Milan (loan)
Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal —> Manchester United (swap)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Manchester United —> Arsenal (swap)
Leon Goretzka | Schalke —> Bayern Munich (summer, free)
Jurgen Locadia | PSV Eindhoven —> Brighton (19.5 million)
Ezequiel Barco | Independiente —> Atlanta United ($15 million)
Robin van Persie | Fenerbahce —> Feyenoord (free)
Kostas Stafylidis | Augsburg —> Stoke City (loan)
Cedric Bakambu | Villarreal —> Beijing Guoan ($49 million)
Theo Walcott | Arsenal —> Everton ($27.6 million)
Martin Hongla | Grenada —> Barcelona (loan)
Lisandro Lopez | Benfica —> Inter Milan (loan)
Manuel Akanji | FC Basel —> Borussia Dortmund ($27 million)
Alex Pritchard | Norwich City —> Huddersfield Town ($16.6 million)
Yerry Mina | Palmeiras —> Barcelona ($14.2 million)
Francis Coquelin | Arsenal —> Valencia ($14.4 million)
Fousseni Diabate | Gazélec Ajaccio —> Leicester City ($4.8 million)
Renato Steffen | FC Basel —> Wolfsburg ($2 million)
Mark Uth | Hoffenheim —> Schalke (summer, free)
Moritz Bauer | Rubin Kazan —> Stoke City ($6.8 million)
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou | Tottenham —> Burnley (loan)
Kevin Mirallas | Everton —> Olympiacos (loan)
Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool —> Barcelona ($192.5 million)
Cenk Tosun | Besiktas —> Everton ($36.5 million)
Wesley Sneijder | Nice —> Al-Gharafa (undisclosed)
Ross Barkley | Everton —> Chelsea ($20.3 million)
Marko Pjaca | Juventus —> Schalke (loan)
Konstantinos Mavropanos | PAS Giannina —> Arsenal ($2.4 million)
Terence Kongolo | Monaco —> Huddersfield Town (loan)
Virgil van Dijk | Southampton —> Liverpool ($101.4 million)
Diego Costa | Chelsea —> Atletico Madrid (€71.5 million)
Adrien Silva | Sporting CP —> Leicester City ($29.8 million)

Previous rumor roundups: Jan. 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26

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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.