Thomas Tuchel has secured his reunion with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Stamford Bridge. The 33-year-old signed for the Blues on transfer deadline day from Barcelona with hopes the German can rekindle his previously strong relationship with the striker when they were together at Borussia Dortmund.
But earlier this summer, Tuchel reflected on the known issue in west London of strikers arriving with high expectations and failing to live up to the hype, particularly if they are wearing the No. 9 on their back.
Chelsea quickly confirmed that Aubameyang would take the 'ill-fated' number when the player was unveiled past midnight on Friday morning, with Romelu Lukaku having vacated it with his loan back to Inter Milan.
READ MORE: Why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's £12m transfer to Chelsea took so long to complete
“It’s cursed! it’s cursed, people tell me it’s cursed." Tuchel said of the No. 9 shirt at Chelsea last month.
"It’s not the case that we leave it open for tactical reasons, for some players in the pipeline that come in and naturally take it. There was not a big demand for No. 9, when like players sometimes want to change numbers. But, surprisingly, nobody wants to touch it.
"Everybody who is longer than me in the club tells me ‘ah, you know, like he had the nine and he did not score and he had the nine and did also not score’. So we now we have a moment where nobody wants to touch the number nine.”
Aubameyang has shown little hesitation in facing that supposed curse, however keeping the number he had at Barcelona, after wearing the 14 at Arsenal in the Premier League prior to that. Before Lukaku, Tammy Abraham, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata had worn No. 9 for the Blues.
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