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Transfer gossip column: Aubameyang subject of €150M bid from China

KAI PFAFFENBACH / Reuters

This is not the place for legitimate reports and completed deals. Here, we compile the ludicrous transfer rumours that arise during this month of madness in the football world.

Aubameyang to follow Chinese riches?

One of the most devastating frontmen on the planet, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has been subject of a world-record €150-million bid from Shanghai SIPG, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, with a financial package that would see him earn €41 million annually.

If the move was to go through, the Borussia Dortmund man would link up with Brazilians Oscar and Hulk in the Xuhui district of Shanghai, and would be managed by Andre Villas-Boas, formerly the overseer of FC Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Zenit St. Petersburg.

His rivals across the city, Shanghai Shenhua, would be Carlos Tevez, Demba Ba, Fredy Guarin, and Obafemi Martins - presumably a very attack-heavy side under gaffer Gustavo Poyet.

It's fantasy football stuff in China, with Tuttosport also touting a €30-million shift to East Asia for AC Milan's Carlos Bacca.

Sanchez is off, Arsenal fans - but don't Pjanic

Somehow, in a football landscape where trades are rarer than a clean sheet for Valencia, Arsenal and Juventus will partake in a game of swapsies that'll undoubtedly draw a crowd in the January transfer playground.

Tuttosport claims that Alexis Sanchez could be swapped for Miralem Pjanic in a deal which would make little sense to both clubs and players. Arsenal is so stacked with No. 10s that it has to shove Aaron Ramsey onto the right wing, while Pjanic is slowly easing into life in Turin.

Rumours that Juventus is looking to swap Simone Zaza, who's currently on loan at West Ham United, for men's bow moccasin slippers (worth £20 on Arsenal's club shop website) and a bag of Hula Hoops are completely unfounded.

Chelsea wants meaty Michail

"CONTE EYES BRITISH BEEF," The Sun's Andrew Dillon bellows in the tabloid's backpages.

In a deal which would make tactical sense due to the versatility and work ethic Michail Antonio has shown at West Ham United, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has apparently scribbled the former non-league player's name on his January wish list.

The 26-year-old would help the Blues fulfill their homegrown quota, would offer competition to Victor Moses, and has a forehead that can propel more heat than the nearby, disused Lots Road Power Station could in its heyday.

Rumours that Chelsea is to sign Arturo Vidal, meanwhile, are "absolute rubbish" says Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti, according to quotes picked up by The Mirror's Alex Richards.

Barcelona return for Grimaldo?

Barcelona is eyeing an approach for former B-team player Alex Grimaldo, the left-back currently putting in sterling performances for Benfica.

Scouts from Juventus are also believed to be scribbling notes on the backs of cigarette packets about the 21-year-old, says Tom Sunderland of the Bleacher Report, but Manchester City has ducked out of the race.

The Sun's Anthony Chapman, meanwhile, believes 34-year-old Darijo Srna could opt against switching Shakhtar Donetsk for a short-term stay in Barcelona due to him having to take a pay cut from his £65,000-a-week wages in Catalonia if he was to agree terms.

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