Mauricio Pochettino has been handed a huge boost in his mission to trim down the Chelsea squad. The Blues are said to be determined to offload several players this summer in an effort to raise funds to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
After just 12 months at the helm of Stamford Bridge, Todd Boehly drafted in 14 new faces to west London for £600 million. However, while Chelsea have been treated to some shiny new toys, the club only managed to sell six players under the American billionaire's reign for around £50m.
So, a fire sale is on the agenda this summer. Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all been heavily linked with exits, as have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Romelu Lukaku also face uncertain futures at Chelsea once they return from their respective loan spells this summer. With as many as eight Blues stars available on the market this summer, clubs around Europe are looking to strike bargain – and understandably so.
One of whom are Galatasaray. In an interview on Turkish television show TV100, Okan Buruk confirmed the club's interest in several Chelsea players. The Galatasaray boss said: "We have a lot of players that we want from Chelsea."
According to The Express, the Turkish giants' vice-president Erden Timur was in London last month to meet numerous Premier League sides – including Chelsea – to discuss any any potential signings. And, the report states that Aubameyang is a priority target.
The 33-year-old striker has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge for a while now having fallen out of favour under both Graham Potter and Frank Lampard. Aubameyang has been leaning towards a return to Barcelona, but a move to Saudia Arabia seems to be on the cards too.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: 'Done deal', Mount exit 'agreed', Onana swap deal, Vlahovic bid
In March, Aubameyang was pictured in the Spanish side's dressing room after a dramatic win over Real Madrid, celebrating with former teammate Ferran Torres. Chelsea supporters, and pundits alike, noticed the striker's social media activity and they quickly called him out for his misconduct.
"What can you say about the photo Ferran Torres shared of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrating with the Barcelona squad after they beat Real Madrid on Sunday? It’s shambolic," Stan Collymore told CaughtOffside. "A lot of younger fans will say ‘what’s the problem?’ – but it’s not right.
"This is an elite-level competitive sport – you do not cross certain boundaries and celebrating another team’s victory inside their dressing room is an absolute no-no. He’s a Chelsea player so while he’s there, he should be coming across as blue through and through but he doesn’t.
"He’s primed to disappear into the Middle East and Graham Potter will probably be thanking his lucky stars."
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