Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is on his way to London for a medical with Chelsea as the Blues inch closer to a final agreement with Barcelona, 90min understands.
Talks over the Gabon striker have been ongoing for weeks and Chelsea have long been optimistic of their chances of getting a deal done. But there is now a race against time to thrash out an agreement with Barcelona before Thursday night's deadline.
Sources have confirmed to 90min that discussions have veered away from a straight-cash deal for Aubameyang and are now centred on a swap deal involving left-back Marcos Alonso, who has had an agreement over personal terms with Barcelona for months.
A bid of £10m plus Alonso is on the table for Aubameyang, and both sides now believe a deal is close to being completed.
Barcelona had hoped for a bigger sum but are increasingly keen to get the striker's salary off the books as part of their ongoing attempts to address their financial woes and are now expected to agree to Chelsea's proposal, particularly as they are very keen to bring in Alonso as well.
With talks close to completion, Aubameyang is heading to England for a medical, which Alonso is already in Spain to put the finishing touches on his own move to Barcelona.
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Salary concerns have also seen Barcelona reignite talks with Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite over contract terminations and there is hope at Camp Nou that both players could be out of the door by the end of the day.
With Chelsea closing in on Aubameyang, the Blues are stepping up their plans to bolster in other positions before the window closes.
Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha remains of interest but any deal would likely involve midfielder Conor Gallagher moving in the opposite direction, which is seen as unlikely but not impossible.
Gallagher's future could be linked to that of Edson Alvarez, who has told Ajax that he wants to leave after Chelsea lodged a €50m bid for his services.
Source : 90min