Thomas Tuchel has fuelled speculation regarding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future by telling reporters he "would be interested" in a player with his goal record.
Tuchel is reportedly interested in bringing Aubameyang, 33, to Stamford Bridge. Barcelona are willing to sell the former Arsenal skipper, who still has three years left on his contract, to Chelsea after signing Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich in July.
Aubameyang joined Barcelona only six months ago after completing a free transfer from the Gunners. He's impressed during his time in Spain, scoring 11 goals in 17 La Liga games to help Xavi's side finish second in the table behind bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Yet with Lewandowski now on the scene, Aubameyang is set to play a supporting role at the Camp Nou. The Poland international is one of the most prolific strikers in Europe, finding the net 50 times for Bayern last term. He is also a two-time FIFA Player of the Year.
That's assuming Aubameyang stays at Barcelona. They're happy for him to leave the club to make space in their budget, which is a necessity. As per La Liga rules, the Spanish giants can't register new players - including Lewandowski - until they make some sales.
Chelsea and Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong is another player that could leave the Camp Nou. Other potential departures include Martin Braithwaite and Memphis Depay. "We are doing everything possible to register the signings," Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently told reporters. "We have to do it before August 13."
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Chelsea would be an ideal destination for Aubameyang. The forward has a fine record in the Premier League, scoring 68 goals in 128 games. He shared the Golden Boot award with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in the 2018/19 campaign, finding the net 22 times.
Aubameyang also flourished at Borussia Dortmund during Tuchel's two-year spell in charge of the German giants, scoring a whopping 79 goals. As such, Tuchel was asked about the possibility of a reunion at Stamford Bridge on Friday morning.
"I would be interested in the 79 goals!" admitted Tuchel. "We will not comment further. There are a lot of names out there, sometimes due to the fact we discuss a lot of names but also sometimes pure speculation. We will not get involved."
Tuchel was speaking to the press ahead of Chelsea's opening Premier League game of the season. The Blues take on Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday evening and are hoping to close the gap on title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.
Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last season, 18 points behind Liverpool in second. They endured a difficult pre-season campaign - suffering a 4-0 loss to Arsenal - yet Tuchel believes they've "stepped up" since that humbling loss to the Gunners.
He added: "We are not where we can be but let’s see, we feel ready and competitive for tomorrow... this is very important to not lose focus and take the first week step by step. We took the possibility to prepare the whole week for Saturday, nothing else."
