Transfer round-up: Dortmund want Giroud as part of Aubameyang deal while Man City eye Bilbao defender

The Gabon international was disciplined by the club last week after missing a team meeting and has not played for Dortmund since before their winter break as a result.

He is a £53m target for Arsenal and although Arsene Wenger insisted on Saturday that, while the Gunners were interested, there were still "nowhere near" a deal.

However, they might have been getting a little bit closer come Sunday after chief executive Ivan Gazidis was spotted in Dortmund in an attempt to push the deal for Aubameyang through before the 31st January deadline.

He employed a similar tactic last summer when he and Wenger flew out to Monaco in the close season to speak about Kylian Mbappe and, although unsuccessful, it worked in getting a quicker answer.

Speaking on Saturday, Wenger said: "We are nowhere near anything with Dortmund. They are responsible for their own statements. I cannot stand up for what they say. If we sign somebody, we'll announce it. I half-announced Sanchez against Mkhitaryan, because that's likely to happen. All the rest: we are not close at all to anything."

The Mirror claim that Dortmund are demanding Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud in part-exchange for Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. If the Frenchman doesn't move the transfer is off until the summer.

Manchester City are apparently keen on Athletic Bilbao central defender Aymeric Laporte this month, according to the Sun. Pep Guardiola is a long-term admirer of the Frenchman valued at £60m by the Basque club.

Chelsea are closing in on Roma left-back Emerson Palmieri but face a dilemma over whether to sign teammate Edin Dzeko or not. The Blues have a policy of never paying transfer fees for players over 30 but an exception could be made for the Bosnian who turns 32 in March, according to the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, talk of Daniel Sturridge's imminent exit from Liverpool was fuelled after the forward was left out of the squad for the defeat to Swansea on Monday night.

Sturridge has been linked with Inter Milan and Sevilla recently, and Liverpool are said to have told him he won't be allowed to join another Premier League club.

Sky Sports report that Inter have offered more money for a short-term loan deal and Liverpool have told their player to go to Italy.

Additional reporting from Telegraph