Chelsea don't just have hopes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being a stop-gap that will see them through this season. The 33-year-old has been the key target for Thomas Tuchel for a while now as he not only looks for a source of Premier League proven goals but also a flexible forward that will allow Armando Broja to play his fair share of minutes too this season.
It's a specific set of requirements and one that Aubameyang fits well, plus he has a very good understanding of Tuchel and his methods having worked brilliantly for the German at Borussia Dortmund. That won't last long as a reason to be excited by his signing though, especially if he doesn't hit the ground running.
Tuchel has put a lot of stock in this deal working out for him. Not only to prove that his attacking coaching is up to standard but also that players can thrive in his system when the manager has a team and a group that he sees as more of his own. That's a lot of pressure on Aubameyang.
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There are other benefits to the move though. He has only recently left London so should be able to quickly get used to his surroundings once more. He knows the country and opponents well already and has already got a built up relationship with one of Chelsea's attackers in the spotlight.
Along with a proposed German connection aiming to get the best out of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner when Tuchel was appointed at Stamford Bridge, there was also a hope that he could spark the comeback of Christian Pulisic's form.
Seven months before Tuchel was appointed, Pulisic went through his best patch of form for Chelsea, sparking their post-lockdown matches with excitement and a glimmer that the American had announced himself in England. Unfortunately for Pulisic that patch of form remains his best at the club with nothing consistent coming close to matching those levels following a serious hamstring injury in the FA Cup final defeat against Arsenal.
Under Tuchel though he has managed only 12 goals and nine assist in 69 matches. Compare that with his seven goals and 13 assists in 55 games as a teenager and the lack of development has been disappointing.
Aubameyang might be a surprise way to change that though. The Gabonese striker was credited by Pulisic as being the reason behind his first ever Champions League goal, with the American saying: "Quite honestly, that way of chipping it is something Auba has given me. As for the goal itself: Lukasz Piszczek gave me a really perfect pass. I only had to make the run at the right time and put it in."
That goal came when Pulisic was just 17. Now as a 23-year-old the expectations are still high for him, but the irony is that Aubameyang, whilst a key figure in Pulisic's early development, is coming in to fill the void that he himself hasn't been able to fill for Tuchel. It looks like he will be remaining at Stamford Bridge this summer though and could be relied upon to inject life into a failing attack.
His words on Aubameyang bode well for the new arrival though, even if it doesn't make much difference to Pulisic's own future. "I know him quite well," Pulisic said whilst in Germany. "He [Aubameyang] is incredible, the way he gets in good areas. He’s always dangerous, so we are definitely going to have to be cautious of that and they have some other good players, but he is definitely one guy you have to look out for."
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