Chelsea are having “second thoughts” about signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to David Ornstein’s transfer column in the Athletic today.
The Blues were being very strongly linked last week, and some sources in Spain went as far as to claim that the striker was “on the plane” to England to complete a deal.
But things have suddenly gone very quiet, and Ornstein explains why.
According to the site’s football correspondent, there is still no agreement with Barca or the player after a £15m proposal earlier this month didn’t get the green light.
Aubameyang is demanding a “high salary,” and probably isn’t keen to leave Barcelona anyway.
Chelsea are aware of how much they need a goalscorer in the squad, but evidently they know their limits, which are not too high for a player who is already 33.
We’re concerned about the lack of bodies up front, but we’re not heartbroken about this particular deal falling through.
If ownership isn’t working multiple deals at once, spending all their time on Pierre/Frankie outcomes, it’s poor business. To get to a week left in the transfer market only to realize the player wants a 2-year deal and we only want a 1-year deal is poor business. We shall see.