Barcelona not signing striker; midfielder and defender exits remain priority

Barcelona have no interest in signing Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the moment. The Catalan club remain focused on trimming their first-team squad and slashing their over inflated wage bill.

A number of recent reports suggested that the La Liga giants were keen to bring in another forward and had put the Arsenal skipper on top of their list. Barcelona were ready to part with Philippe Coutinho as part of the deal to take the Gabonese forward to the Camp Nou.

Aubameyang missed Arsenal's 2-0 defeat to Brentford on the opening night of the new Premier League season due to illness, but speculation mounted after it was reported that the striker had a fallout with manager Mikel Arteta. However, Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has poured cold water on the rumours, making it clear that Barcelona have no interest in the Gabon international.

"Barcelona are currently not negotiating for Pierre Aubameyang from Arsenal as new striker. He's not a target now, priority is to sell players," Romano wrote late on Monday night.

The transfer expert also spoke about Barcelona's potential chances of offloading the likes of Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti. The duo have been told that they are surplus to requirements, but have failed to generate sufficient interest.

Pjanic is wanted by Juventus, but there is no agreement at the moment. The Serie A club are also struggling financially and will have to offload at least one player if they can sign the Bosnian midfielder this summer.

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman publicly admitted that he wants another forward after Lionel Messi's departure and summer arrival Sergio Aguero's confirmed 10-week injury absence. However, with the club's debt totaling £1.15 billion, the manager has been informed that they can only make further additions if they sell players like Umtiti and forward Martin Braithwaite for a considerable fee in the coming weeks.