Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was not a name many will have expected to make transfer headlines during the summer window. The former Arsenal striker only made the move to Barcelona in January after having his contract mutually terminated at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta had kept a dossier of misdemeanours by the Gabon international during his time at Arsenal and he was stripped of the captaincy and then shipped out of the club to get his wages off the books. Barcelona were happy to sign him and he performed well in the second half of last season, netting 13 goals in 23 appearances for the Catalan giants.
But with Robert Lewandowski making the move to the Camp Nou and Barcelona having financial problems and needing to balance the books, Aubameyang has been linked with a move back to the Premier League. And Chelsea have been the club coveting him most, with football.london understanding the Blues are confident of tying up a deal before deadline day on September 1.
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However, there may now be a problem for Chelsea, with Manchester United entering the race for his signature, according to Gianluca Di Marzio. United have their own striker issues, with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave. The Portuguese was another who was linked with Chelsea, with new owner Todd Boehly discussing a move the the multiple Ballon d'Or winner during a meeting with his agent Jorge Mendes.
Reports on Friday night suggested a Blues move for Aubameyang had broken down over contract talks, with reports that Chelsea had offered a one-year deal for the 33-year-old, who himself wanted two years. And that is something Chelsea have historically done with players of Aubameyang's age.
The policy at Stamford Bridge under Roman Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia was to offer players over the age of 30 only one-year contract extensions. There were exceptions to that rule, but in the main, that was how it was done.
Now, with Manchester United making a late move for Aubameyang, Boehly will have to change tack and make his own new policies in west London if he wants to get an Aubameyang deal over the line to reunite him with Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel has not spoken directly about Aubameyang and the pursuit, but did hint that signings were required. He said: "We need to wait. The transfer period is still open. It gets later and later, and we need to focus on what we have and what we can do."
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