Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona on a two-year contract. football.london understands. The Blues have agreed a fee worth around £12million for the forward with Marcos Alonso set be announced by the La Liga giants on a free transfer on Friday morning.
After several weeks of talks with Barcelona over a deal for the 33-year-old striker, Chelsea finally came to an agreement over a convoluted deal that involved Alonso. Aubameyang arrived in London in the final hours of deadline day to undergo a medical and sign his contract, which is understood to be a two-year deal with a further 12 months triggered by certain conditions.
The move reunites Thomas with the striker; the two spent a successful period working with each other at Borussia Dortmund. Aubameyang played arguably the best football of his career under Tuchel and the Chelsea head coach believes the former Gabon international still has so much to offer.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All the latest updates on a frantic deadline day at Stamford Bridge
Aubameyang only moved to Barcelona in January on a free transfer after falling out with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after multiple disciplinary issues. The former Gunners striker was stripped of the captain's armband at the Emirates Stadium towards the end of last year and the north London club eventually terminated his contract, freeing him to move to Barcelona.
During his short time at Camp Nou, Aubameyang scored an impressive 11 goals in 18 La Liga matches and starred in an impressive victory over Real Madrid in last season's El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, the lure of returning to the Premier League and working under Tuchel once again was enough for Aubameyang to say his farewells to Barcelona. Aubameyang is expected to be a key figure in a Chelsea side that has been misfiring in front of goal in the early stages of the new season.
Kai Havertz's form has proved to be a concern, with the Germany international being wasteful in front of goal. Aubameyang is a proven goal scorer and someone, if happy at the club, can be deadly in the 18-yard box.
The departure of Alonso, which may be officially confirmed tomorrow, brings an end to a six-year spell at Stamford Bridge. Alonso completed a £24million move to Chelsea in August 2016 from Fiorentina. Antonio Conte, who was the Blues boss at the time, saw the Spaniard as the ideal left wing-back for his three-at-the-back system.
The nine-time Spain international made his Chelsea debut playing a full 120 minutes in a 4-2 win away at Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. In his debut season for Chelsea in the Premier League, Alonso made 31 appearances – scoring six goals and assisting three times.
Alonso was beginning to get a reputation for scoring from the left wing-back spot, but his defensive ability was often questioned. However, he was a firm favourite under Conte and played a huge part in Chelsea's dominant 2016/17 campaign, where the Blues won the Premier League with 93 points, seven clear of second-place Tottenham.
When Conte departed in the summer of 2018, Maurizio Sarri was appointed as Chelsea manager. Alonso remained a big part of the plans at Stamford Bridge but didn't have the same impact as he did under Conte.
Sarri left Chelsea less than a year after being appointed, though, and Frank Lampard was named the new boss. In Lampard's first season in charge, Alonso featured just 18 times in the Premier League. He clearly wasn't fancied by Lampard.
In the summer of 2020, Chelsea completed the £50million signing of Leicester defender Ben Chilwell, who was clearly brought in with the club viewing him as the first-choice left-back. That was the case, and Alonso featured just three times under Lampard in the 2020/21 season before the Chelsea icon was relieved of his duties in January.
Thomas Tuchel was then appointed as Chelsea's new head coach, and Alonso did get a bit more of a run-in in the side. However, Chilwell was still the first choice.
In his final term with the club – the 2021/22 campaign – Alonso didn't feature too much in the first half of the season. But a serious injury kept Chilwell out for the majority of the second half of the campaign, meaning Alonso was called upon in the left wing-back role.
Despite his constant presence in the Chelsea team, there was still heavy speculation regarding Alonso's future. When Marc Cucurella was signed in August, it was clear Alonso had no future at Stamford Bridge.
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