Arsenal and Chelsea in race against clock to complete Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Olivier Giroud transfers

Arsenal and Chelsea are in a race against time to complete deals for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Olivier Giroud respectively.

Pressure is on both clubs to get the forwards for the second half of the season in a complicated saga involving Borussia Dortmund, with Tottenham also possibly having a role.

Arsenal have already agreed a transfer with Dortmund in the region of £55million for Aubameyang, but the Bundesliga club will not let the forward complete the switch until they find a replacement.

The German transfer window shuts at 5pm on Wednesday night, six hours before the English one.

After failing to get Giroud themselves, Dortmund have made a loan move for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi, their first choice to replace Aubameyang.

Yet Chelsea will not let him depart unless they get someone else in and after talks with Roma star Edin Dzeko collapsed, they have made an approach for Giroud.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger is reluctant to allow the France international to join another Premier League rival, especially in the wake of Alexis Sanchez’s departure to Manchester United, but the striker is desperate for first-team football.

However, the Gunners boss is also under pressure to recoup some of the outlay for Aubameyang after Arsenal agreed a club-record deal.

They were reluctant to go higher than the £52.7m outlay for Alexandre Lacazette but Dortmund dug their heels in over Aubameyang’s valuation as Arsenal refused to include Giroud as part of any agreement.

Wenger wants Giroud to spearhead Arsenal’s Europa League campaign amid concerns of overloading Lacazette during his first season in England. Aubameyang would be ineligible for the competition were he to join.

Standard Sport understands as of Tuesday morning, Aubameyang was not due at Arsenal’s training ground for his medical and promotional shoot ahead of any unveiling. Sources in Germany suggest that he is still in Dortmund.

Unless Dortmund progress in their striker search on Tuesday, Aubameyang could be forced to wait until Wednesday to conclude his move.

Giroud’s preference is to stay in London with his wife particularly settled in the capital.

He turned down a move to Everton last summer because they were unwilling to relocate to Merseyside but the Frenchman’s primary focus is to secure regular action with the World Cup just five months away. The 31-year-old has started just one League game this season.

Arsenal value Giroud as high as £30m — a price designed to dissuade Chelsea — but should they receive a sum approaching that amount for Giroud, it would make an 11th-hour move for West Brom defender Jonny Evans more likely.

It is believed Chelsea have considered offering Batshuayi to Spurs in a straight loan swap for Fernando Llorente as well.

But Batshuayi, who was training with Chelsea this morning, only wants to move to a club where he is guaranteed regular first-team football in order to secure his place in Belgium’s World Cup squad and Dortmund is his priority.

Spurs will only sell Llorente for a significant profit on the £14m they paid Swansea five months ago and with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte expected to depart in the summer it is unlikely the board will sanction such a fee for a 32-year-old.

Emerson Palmieri is due to fly into London on Tuesday to undergo a medical. The Blues have agreed an initial £17.5m fee with Roma for the left wing-back, with between £5.2m-£7m in add-ons.

Meanwhile, Celtic have paid Chelsea £5m to loan attacking midfielder Charly Musonda for the next 18 months.