Chelsea have reportedly set their sights on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose contract situation at Arsenal is being monitored by the Blues.
According to a report by ESPN, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has emerged on the radar of Chelsea, who are keeping tabs on the Gabonese striker. The 30-year-old will enter the final year of his deal with Arsenal in the summer transfer window and has been linked with a possible departure.
Aubameyang has been one of the best players in the Premier League since joining Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018. The last signing ever made by Arsene Wenger, the player has been the single most influential figure for Arsenal, and has even gone on to become the club captain.
This season, Aubameyang had been in his elements prior to the break enforced by the COVID-19 outbreak, with 20 goals and 1 assists in 32 outings across all competitions. However, with a little over a year remaining on his current contract, Arsenal are sweating over the 30-year-old’s future, especially with several clubs eyeing him. Chelsea are the latest such club to show an interest.
The Blues are set to enter the transfer market this summer for an attacking reinforcement, with the signing of a striker reportedly being priority. As of now, Frank Lampard has Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi and former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud at his disposal for the striker’s slot. But, beyond top scorer Abraham, the Chelsea boss has had little on offer in terms of consistency.
With the English international struggling with niggling injury issues, goals started drying up for Chelsea not long into the second half of the season. The need to sign a striker this summer has, thus, rightly cropped up, with Moussa Dembele being identified as a possible solution, especially with Batshuayi being unreliable and Giroud linked with a summer exit.
Timo Werner has also been the subject of interest from Chelsea, but the German international is expected to join Liverpool if he leaves RB Leipzig this summer. Now, though, Aubameyang has emerged as a possible candidate for Chelsea, who are closely monitoring the contract situation of the Arsenal captain.
The report suggests that Dembele is still the preferred target for Chelsea, However, Aubameyang is now seen as a serious alternative, seeing as the Gabonese striker’s talks with Arsenal over a fresh contract have stalled of late.
While the 30-year-old has suggested that he is content at Arsenal, the memories of a similar situation surrounding Alexis Sanchez would still be fresh in the minds of those at the Emirates. As a result, Chelsea and other suitors would fancy their chances of snapping Aubameyang up.
As iterated earlier, several other clubs have been linked with the player, with Manchester City being recently backed to make a summer move for him. The race to sign Aubameyang is indeed heating up, with Chelsea also in the mix for him and Arsenal could have an uphill task on their hands if they are to retain their captain.
