Chelsea brings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back to London

To quell any striker issues, Chelsea splashed $14 million to Barcelona for the services of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Included in the deal is Marcos Alonso, who goes the opposite direction. The Gabon international is signing a two-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona only acquired Aubameyang in the January 2022 transfer window on a free from Arsenal. In that short timeframe at Camp Nou, Aubameyang thrived. He scored 13 goals in just 24 matches with the Blaugrana.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returns to England with Chelsea

The Blues desperately needed to bring in a striker in recent weeks. Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner both departed this summer. In the first five games in league play, Chelsea used a combination of Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling. Neither are out-and-out strikers, a role that Aubameyang has success in when it comes to the English Premier League.

Aubameyang knows London and the Premier League quite well. He spent a total of 163 matches wearing the famous red shirt of Arsenal prior to his move to Barcelona. For the most part, his tenure in England was fruitful. He scored a total of 92 goals for the Gunners. Also, he collected an FA Cup trophy in 2020, lifting the trophy as captain of the club.

Nevertheless, the player failed to maintain his goal pace during his final year-and-a-half with Arsenal. Consequently, the Gunners offloaded him to Barca.

Chelsea fans await wait to see Aubameyang can feature for their club after the striker suffered a broken jaw following a robbery inside his home earlier in the week. The incident could sideline the striker for a few weeks.

The arrival of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona took away from some of Aubameyang’s opportunity at Camp Nou. In Barcelona’s four league games this season, Aubameyang played a grand total of eight minutes.

Already, Raheem Sterling has three goals in the Blues’ first five matches. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should ease Chelsea’s goal-scoring pressure from the England international’s shoulders. The aforementioned Havertz has yet to score a goal so far this season.

Marcos Alonso ends his six-year spell at Chelsea. His arrival to Barca is interesting, as the defender was previously a Real Madrid youth player. Plus, he sees competition with the newly acquired Héctor Bellerín.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Pressinphoto