Chelsea increase Aubameyang bid: The latest
FT Desk
- 30 Aug 2022 15:21 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are upping their bid for Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang by €5 million in an attempt to persuade the Camp Nou club to part ways with the former Arsenal man.
The Blues are in the market for a new striker after letting Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner return to Inter Milan and RB Leipzig respectively this summer, and Thomas Tuchel's former Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang fits the bill.
Robert Lewandowski has arrived at Barcelona in a €50m deal from Bayern Munich, blocking Aubameyang's path to first-team minutes, and the Catalans need to balance the books further if they are to make more signings before the end of the transfer window.
Aubameyang arriving at Camp Nou like:pic.twitter.com/NrvgHuuYz0
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 30, 2022
The Blues had previously made a bid of €20m including bonuses but Barca were understood to be holding out for closer to €30m. Chelsea have now met them halfway with a €25m bid according to Italian journalist Nicolo Schira.
Marco Alonso in part-exchange?
There is still the possibility that Marcos Alonso could be thrown into the deal as a makeweight, although the clubs also differ on how much the 31-year-old left-back should reduce the cash paid for Aubameyang.
"The challenge for Chelsea is in trying to convince Barcelona to do a deal worth about £15m plus Alonso, and that effectively is an agreed deal," CBS reporter Ben Jacobs told Football Transfers in an exclusive interview.
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"As far as the financials are concerned the only thing holding it up is Barcelona saying we've cooled on the moment on Alonso and we wait and see whether or not they U-turn on that position, depending on other movements as the window comes to a close."
Alonso at £15m or €17m would leave a maximum of €13m in cash for Aubameyang, so with Alonso removed from the equation Chelsea will hope a €25m bid for the cash-strapped would be appealing.
Barcelona signed Aubameyang on a free from Arsenal in February and he ended the campaign as their 13-goal top scorer. €25m would be a significant profit for the 33-year-old, but Barca could yet hold out for more.
