Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could leave Chelsea and move to Major League Soccer after being left out of the club’s Champions League squad by Graham Potter.
Aubameyang was among the players who were cut from the squad for the European competition following Chelsea’s splurge in the January transfer window. Potter chose to axe Aubameyang from his 25-man squad for the Champions League in order to accommodate new recruits Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Joao Felix.
The 33-year-old was only signed from Barcelona last September but could already be eyeing the exit door after scoring just three goals in 17 appearances. He was said to be shocked and disappointed by Chelsea’s decision to drop him from the Champions League squad and was left out of the side to play Fulham last Friday.
Potter has since tried to reassure Aubameyang that he still has a place at Chelsea, but it seems his words have fallen on deaf ears. According to Spanish outlet Relevo, Aubameyang is eyeing up a transfer to MLS, with Los Angeles FC interested in acquiring his signature.
LAFC lost Gareth Bale to retirement last month and are looking for a big-name forward to replace the Wales legend. The MLS club are an attractive proposition for the former Gabon international because they are one of the only teams in the world who he could play for.
Aubameyang cannot play for another club for the rest of the 2022/23 season, having already turned out for Chelsea and Barcelona.
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FIFA only allows players to play for two teams in a season, but MLS provides a handy loophole because its 2023 campaign only starts in February. It is therefore considered an ‘overlapping season’ and therefore Aubameyang would be permitted to play.
At the moment, his prospects of getting regular game time in west London appear bleak, with Mudryk, Felix, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Noni Madueke seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order for attacking positions.
"Pierre is a professional and, of course, I understand he will be disappointed," Potter said after the 0-0 draw against Fulham. "It was a tough decision, a tough call. We had three coming in and two had to go out. He was the one that missed out, he's done nothing wrong at all.
"We wanted to give David [Datro Fofana] some game time today to see where he's at and to give him that opportunity. I think you saw that one flash that he's got. Pierre is just unfortunate and he will be fighting for his place for the rest of the season."
Chelsea are facing a growing need to trim their squad after splashing out over £300million in January to bring in eight new players and take the total spend under Todd Boehly consortium close to £600m since May. They are already on UEFA’s watchlist for financial fair play rules and will need to balance the books before the guidelines become stricter.
