Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Chelsea agree deal with Barcelona and Marcos Alonso is going the other way
The Gabon international joined Barcelona from Arsenal in January. Chelsea agreed to a deal to sign Barcelona striker Aubameyang, which will result in Marcos Alonso leaving the club. This summer, Chelsea sold Timo Werner to RB Leipzig and loaned Lukaku to Inter Milan.
Early on Deadline Day, Sky Sports News claimed that Chelsea and Barcelona were nearing an agreement to trade Aubameyang. According to reports, Chelsea will pay £10 million plus Alonso for the former Arsenal striker.
With personal terms not anticipated to be an issue, Aubameyang has been given permission to go to the UK for his physical and to finalize the agreement.
In a weekend attack on his house, Aubameyang sustained a slight jaw fracture.
The Gabon forward may start non-contact practice again the following week after a three-week anticipated layoff.
In January, Aubameyang left Arsenal for Barcelona on a free transfer. His contract has three more years to go.
Thomas Tuchel is eager to reunite with Aubameyang, who scored 79 goals for him in two seasons at Borussia Dortmund, despite his reluctance to discuss him in public.
This summer, Tuchel has already spent $268 million on players, including Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, and Wesley Fofana.
Auba is one of those players, according to Tuchel, who informed media last month. This basically confirmed rumors that Chelsea was considering a deal for his former striker.
While the Gabonese player made headlines at Arsenal for both the right and wrong reasons, Aubameyang under Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund simply scored goals, scoring 56 Bundesliga goals in 63 games over two seasons.
When Dortmund fired Tuchel at the conclusion of the 2016–17 campaign, that relationship came to an end. Aubameyang subsequently joined Arsenal in the winter transfer window of 2018 for a then-club-record £60 million, and he immediately made an impact with 10 league goals in only 12 starts.
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His goal percentage did, however, gradually deteriorate over the course of four seasons, culminating in his removal as club captain for disciplinary reasons. He left the club by mutual consent six weeks later, and six weeks later, he signed with Barcelona on a free transfer.
In typical Jekyll and Hyde fashion, the flashy forward exploded into the La Liga scene last season, averaging nearly one goal per game and enabling the team advance from fifth place to finish second to rival Real Madrid.
However, despite continued criticism over their haste to raise money and sign new players, including former Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Barca have been active in the transfer market this summer.
Aubameyang’s former manager has approached Barcelona after the player was allowed to leave the team after just seven months at the Nou Camp, earning about £6.5 million and obtaining Marcos Alonso in the process. Yet why?
Having collaborated so successfully for the two years that ended five years ago, the 33-year-old would fit in Tuchel’s plans with ease.
Romelu Lukaku, who was loaned back to old club Inter Milan this season after failing to light up after his £97.5m return to the club last season, would be replaced at No. 9 by Aubameyang, who has a history of having immediate effects.
During the German’s tenure, Chelsea has struggled with an age-old problem: converting chances. The Blues have the seventh-worst expected-goal differential in the division despite having only played five games.
Mason Mount leads the team in league goals under Tuchel, followed by the adaptable Kai Havertz, who recently took on the position of a false No 9, holding midfielder and penalty taker Jorginho, and cameo winger Christian Pulisic.
As shown in the images below, Aubameyang also offers adaptability and positional mobility. During his time at the Emirates, he functioned equally well in both the left flank and center positions.
