Chelsea football club signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona before the summer transfer window closed, giving manager Thomas Tuchel a new striker a season after they couldn’t make it work with Romelu Lukaku.
The 33-year-old Aubameyang returns to the Premier League after just seven months in Barcelona, where he moved after being released by Arsenal. The deal was reportedly valued at $14 million.
“I have some unfinished business with the Premier League so it’s good to be back and really exciting,” said Aubameyang, who has signed a two-year contract in a transfer announced by Chelsea nearly 90 minutes after the deadline passed.
The west London club is the biggest spender in Europe this window after an outlay of about USD 280 million.
Aubameyang won’t be immediately available for Chelsea after sustaining a jaw injury in a home invasion this week in Spain. Armed thieves hit the Gabon international in the face and forced him to open a safe for jewelry, authorities said.
Aubameyang, who scored 13 goals in 23 appearances overall for Barcelona, was expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
The Gabon striker played for Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund.
Lukaku is at Inter Milan on a one-year loan deal less than a year after joining Chelsea for USD 135 million as the seventh most expensive soccer player ever at the time.
Aubameyang, who has three years left on his Barcelona contract, suffered a jaw injury following an armed robbery at his home and is expected to be out of action for three weeks.
Chelsea has been playing without a recognised striker after Romelu Lukaku moved back to Inter Milan on loan in the close season while Timo Werner returned to RB Leipzig.
The London club has signed a number of high-profile players in the transfer window, including Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
