Barcelona have reportedly taken a step back in their pursuit of Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in order to focus their attention on signing Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez.
The Spanish champions are known to be in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer, having been forced into the emergency signing of Martin Braithwaite last month following long-term injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.
Martinez has long been regarded as their number one target, but Aubameyang was being considered as a cheaper second choice with his contract at the Emirates Stadium due to expire next summer.
However, the Daily Star reports that Barcelona have now cooled their interest in the Gabon international and will instead put all of their effort into signing Martinez, who is understood to have a €111m (£101.4m) release clause which can be triggered in the first week of July.
Barca's decision could be good news for Manchester United, who have also been linked with a £50m summer swoop for Aubameyang.
Arsenal are reluctant to sell their top scorer to a Premier League rival, though, and have reportedly put feelers out to Real Madrid to see whether they would be interested in the 30-year-old instead.
Barney Corkhill
