Chelsea will continue holding talks this week over a deal to sign Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 90min understands.
The 33-year-old only moved to Camp Nou in January after his four-year spell at Arsenal came to an acrimonious end, but he’s unlikely to be a regular starter for Barcelona this season following the arrival of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.
Barcelona have also strengthened in wide areas, bringing in the likes of Raphinha, meaning Aubameyang’s hopes of playing as a wide inside forward may also be dashed.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are in desperate need for striking reinforcements after Romelu Lukaku’s failed return to Stamford Bridge.
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The Belgian has rejoined Inter on loan just a year after leaving the Serie A giants in a deal worth £97.5m, while Timo Werner has also departed west London to rejoin his former club RB Leipzig.
The departures of Lukaku and Werner have seen Kai Havertz carry on playing in a less than natural false nine role, with 20-year-old Armando Broja currently the only alternative striker at head coach Thomas Tuchel’s disposal.
The German worked together with Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund and has recently expressed a public admiration for him – though he stopped short of saying that he wanted to sign him for Chelsea.
Nevertheless, 90min understands that Chelsea will hold talks with Barcelona this week in a bid to lure Aubameyang back to the Premier League, and a meeting has also been scheduled with his representatives to gauge whether or not he is prepared to leave Spain after just seven months.
Aubameyang has not indicated a desire to join Chelsea at this stage, but the prospect of reuniting with Tuchel under the new Todd Boehly-led regime may be a huge factor in persuading him to move.
It’s thought that Barcelona value Aubameyang at around £20m – they picked him up on a free transfer after Arsenal mutually terminated the remainder of his contract in north London – and the Catalan giants do need to reduce their heavily inflated wage bill.
Allowing a transfer to go through may then allow Barcelona to make further signings, or at the very least ensure they are able to register all of the players they have already brought in and pay salaries.
Chelsea are also in the market for a new central defender, with Leicester’s Wesley Fofana currently top of their hit-list, while the club are also keen to sign Everton’s versatile wide forward Anthony Gordon. They have two bids rejected to date, the last of which was around the £45m mark.
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