Chelsea have been linked with an incredible move for Barcelona striker and former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Chelsea have reportedly been 'considering' the 33-year-old, despite him joining Barcelona in January from Chelsea's London rivals.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has history with the Gabonese international, working together at Borussia Dortmund where they won the 2016/17 DFB-Pokal together. Tuchel has also been increasingly vocal about the need for the club to upgrade their current squad, especially in the attacking department.
In recent days, new owner Todd Boehly has secured two new youngsters for the future of the club, with Gabriel Slonina joining from Chicago Fire and Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa. It was reported by Fabrizio Romano that Chelsea have opened talks with Aubameyang, though are yet to submit a bid to the club.
READ MORE: Chelsea complete £20m transfer for Aston Villa wonderkid Carney Chukwuemeka
If Aubameyang did sign for the Blues, it'd make him the 30th player to have played for both Arsenal and Chelsea - but how much of an impact would he make at Stamford Bridge? Would his reunion with Tuchel bring the Blues any silverware? We used Football Manager 22 to find out!
We 'signed' Aubameyang for Chelsea
For this simulation to happen, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 22 to allow the transfer of Aubameyang to Chelsea at the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
With only four goal contributions in 10 appearances across all competitions, the 33-year-old was certainly a disappointment for Chelsea on his return to England. Aubameyang averaged a 7.00 rating from his 10 games, and whilst that's not a terrible return, it was enough to rank him second-last amongst his attacking teammates, only ahead of Timo Werner by 0.01 points.
Sadly, Aubameyang's debut season was riddled with injuries. Out for a total of five months over the season, his injuries included two separate groin injuries, a knee issue, and a pulled thigh towards the end of the year. He also scored fewer goals than both Mateo Kovacic and Conor Gallagher, both of whom played in central midfield.
At the end of the season, FM22 released the Best XI from the Chelsea squad, using player statistics, league data and other measures to complete the team.
In the Best XI, new signings Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly make the team, whilst Kovacic and Gallagher occupied central midfield. Tuchel played his usual 5-2-2-1 system, pairing up Thiago Silva in-between Koulibaly and Trevoh Chalobah.
Full Chelsea Best XI (5-2-2-1): Mendy; James, Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Gallagher, Kovačić; Mount, Havertz; Sterling.
Kai Havertz contributed 36 goal contributions in his standout Chelsea season, averaging a 7.44 rating, with Sterling and Mount combining for 39 goals over the season. Marc Cucurella was also part of the Blues squad, but he didn't feature in the best XI over Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea's overall 2022/23 season from the simulation
The Blues had a fairly successful league campaign - a second consecutive third-place finish for the Blues showed the lack of impact from Aubameyang. They scored the same amount of goals as the 2021/22 campaign, conceded three more and were one point worse off.
The Blues did still secure Champions League football for the 2023/24 season, but the gap to Manchester City simply grew. Their domestic cup competitions were almost a complete success - the Blues lost out to both Manchester clubs in both finals.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to Man United in the Carabao Cup, despite a Mason Mount penalty in the 10th minute to put the Blues ahead. They'd then lose on penalties to Man City, making it four FA Cup Final losses in a row. Aubameyang was subbed on for the match, but he missed a crucial penalty leading to the side's loss.
Their European campaign got off to a good start as the Blues topped their group. They drew Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, and after a 0-0 first leg, the Blues crashed out as the German side won 1-0 in the second leg.
Overall, the story of Aubameyang's transfer could be bigger than the Gabonese's impact on the Blues' season. Chelsea did make it to two finals, but they also did last season. If the deal does happen in real life, fans will be hoping it doesn't turn out like this.
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Keep up-to-date with all the latest in Chelsea's transfer window here!
