CHELSEA AND BARCELONA REACH AN AGREEMENT ON PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG AND ALONSO MARCOS
Chelsea and Barcelona reach an agreement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Marcos Alonso moving in the other direction.
In a trade that will send Marcos Alonso the other way, Chelsea and Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have reached an agreement: An international from Gabon moved from Arsenal to Barcelona in January: Romelu Lukaku was leased out to Inter Milan by Chelsea this summer, and Timo Werner was transferred to RB Leipzig.
Deadline Day that Chelsea and Barcelona were nearing a deal to trade Aubameyang. According to reports, Chelsea will pay around £10 million for the former Arsenal striker, plus Alonso.
With personal terms not anticipated to be an issue, Aubameyang has been given permission to fly to the UK for his medical and to finalize the agreement.
In a weekend attack on his home, Aubameyang sustained a slight jaw fracture.
The Gabon forward can 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 had three more years to run.
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.
"Some players stay your players because you were very, very close - and Auba is one of those players," Tuchel told journalists last month, effectively confirming reports that Chelsea was interested in signing his former striker.
While the Gabonese international made headlines for all the wrong reasons during his time at Arsenal, Aubameyang simply produced goals for Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, scoring 56 Bundesliga goals in 63 appearances over two seasons.
That partnership ended when Dortmund fired Tuchel at the end of the 2016/17 season, and Aubameyang joined Arsenal in the winter window of 2018 for a then-club-record £60 million, hitting the ground running with 10 league goals in only 12 starts.
His goal ratio, however, gradually declined over four seasons, culminating in his removal as club captain for disciplinary reasons before leaving the club by mutual consent six weeks later and joining Barcelona on a free transfer.
In true Jekyll and Hyde fashion, the flamboyant striker burst out of the blocks in La Liga last season, averaging nearly one goal per game and helping the club climb from fifth to second place behind rivals Real Madrid.
However, Barcelona has been active in the transfer market this summer, despite the ongoing controversy surrounding their rush to raise capital and sign new players, including former Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
The 33-year-old would fit right in with Tuchel's plans, having worked with him for two years prior, which ended five years ago.
Furthermore, Aubameyang has a track record of making an immediate impact and would fill the No 9 void left by Romelu Lukaku, who failed to ignite after joining the club for £97.5 million last season and was loaned back to former club Inter Milan this season.
During the German's tenure, Chelsea have struggled with an age-old problem: converting chances. Despite only five games played, the Blues have the division's seventh-worst expected-goal differential.
Indeed, midfielder Mason Mount leads the club in league goals during Tuchel's tenure, with the versatile Kai Havertz - who has recently adopted a false No 9 role - holding midfielder and penalty taker Jorginho, and bit-part winger Christian Pulisic trailing behind.
On song, the striker is clinical, and the goal map below shows what he could offer Chelsea: goals in and around central areas inside the box, and is likely to take up a central position, allowing summer signing Raheem Sterling to be deployed down his preferred wide channel.
Tuchel will be hoping that his former favorite can make another explosive impact with the Blues sitting ninth in the Premier League table after five games and only two wins.
CREDIT - Sky Sports
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