Chelsea are reportedly closing in on a player-plus-cash deal to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona on deadline day.
The Blues have been searching for attacking reinforcements for much of the summer, having let Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner leave the club earlier in the transfer window.
Aubameyang has emerged as their top target in recent weeks, with Barcelona keen to offload the 33-year-old from their wage bill having brought Robert Lewandowski to the club this summer.
The Athletic reports that Chelsea are now on the verge of agreeing a deal for the former Arsenal striker which would see left-back Marcos Alonso move in the opposite direction.
In addition to Alonso joining the Spanish giants, Chelsea will reportedly pay Barca a transfer fee of around £6.4m.
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Thomas Tuchel's men are thought to be willing to offer Aubameyang a two-year deal with the option of a further year on top of that, dependent on the percentage of appearances he makes in his second season at the club.
The Gabon international spent four years in the Premier League with Arsenal, scoring 68 goals in 128 top-flight appearances and 92 in 163 outings for the club across all competitions.
However, the striker's time in North London ended in acrimonious fashion last season when he fell out with manager Mikel Arteta, was stripped of the captaincy and then was sold in the January transfer window.
Aubameyang notched 11 goals in just 17 games for Barcelona during the second half of last season, but has fallen down the pecking order since Lewandowski's arrival.
Alonso, meanwhile, joined Chelsea in 2016 and has gone on to make more than 200 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 29 goals.
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During that time, the 31-year-old has helped the club to win the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
However, the Spaniard has not featured in any of Tuchel's matchday squads so far this season, having lost his place in the side to new arrival Marc Cucurella.
Chelsea, who have also been linked with AC Milan's Rafael Leao, have been the biggest spenders in the Premier League during the summer transfer window, already splashing more than £240m on new arrivals.
The majority of those signings have been in defence, with Wesley Fofana, Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly all joining for big-money fees, while they also spent £50m on Raheem Sterling.
However, the Blues have lost two of their opening five Premier League games this season, conceding eight times in the process to leave themselves ninth in the table.
Barney Corkhill
