Chelsea and Barcelona in Aubameyang transfer stalemate
FT Desk
- 24 Aug 2022 04:26 CDT
- 3 min read
Chelsea need a striker, Barcelona need to balance their books. A move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would appear to make sense for everybody, but the transfer fee is proving a stumbling block.
With Romelo Lukaku and Timo Werner shipped off to former clubs Inter Milan and RB Leipzig respectively this summer, Chelsea are in the market for a striker, and Aubameyang - who previously worked under Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund - would appear to be the perfect candidate.
As well as with his would-be manager, Aubameyang is familiar with London having captained Arsenal for some of his four years there. At 33, he is also still a serious proposition in front of goal, having been Barca's 13-goal top scorer last season despite only arriving in February.
January: Arsenal pay Aubameyang £7m and £230k a week to join Barcelona on €2m wages
August: Chelsea ready to pay £20m to bring him back to the Premier League
Barcelona could pull a blinder here 😲https://t.co/sg926Unw2L— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 18, 2022
The sticking point is the transfer fee Barca are demanding, which Fabrizio Romano reports is around €30 million. Football Transfers ranks Aubameyang at €24m through its sophisticated in-house algorithm, but Chelsea are loathe to pay so much for a player Barcelona acquired on a free just six months ago.
There is further pressure on Barcelona to accept a lower fee with the cash-strapped Catalan club needing to offload players before the summer transfer window slams shut in order to register all of their new arrivals for official competition.
Lewandowski arrival
Robert Lewandowski has arrived in a €50m deal from Bayern Munich, blocking Aubameyang's path into the starting line-up, while Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have also been acquired.
But Barca have as yet been unable to register Kounde, with the size of their wage bill and balance of transfer spending seeing them fall foul of La Liga financial regulations.
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Memhis Depay's move to Juventus has fallen through, although Manchester United have emerged as an alternative destination for the Dutchman. Samuel Umtiti is also nearing a move to Lecce, but getting Aubameyang off the books would also suit Barca.
A €30m fee would take Chelsea's transfer spending to €230m having also signed the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella, while they need to keep up to €70m aside for Everton winger Anthony Gordon.
