Chelsea star makes brutal public Potter putdown

Robin Bairner

• 3 Apr 2023 06:03 CDT
• 3 min read

Graham Potter’s time at Chelsea came swiftly to an end on Sunday as he was sacked by the club – and the decision appears to have delighted striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Potter left the Blues 11th in the Premier League table following a 2-0 defeat at home against Aston Villa.

One of the biggest criticisms levelled at his side was their lack of goals, but despite this, the former Brighton manager refused to give significant minutes to Aubameyang.

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Aubameyang was one of the few senior players that Chelsea have signed this season, with the 33-year-old having arrived from Barcelona at the end of the summer transfer window.

He found himself on the periphery of things under Potter and has played only 43 minutes of first-team football since being taken off in a 1-0 loss to Manchester City on 5 January.

Indeed, Aubameyang was subsequently left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the second half of the season.

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The manager’s departure has clearly caused him no hurt, with Aubameyang taking to Instagram when the sacking was announced to ‘like’ Chelsea’s post.

It is certainly not the first time that Aubameyang has caused social media chaos this season, with the striker’s family posting a video of all his relations dressed in Chelsea deal as a clear middle finger to former club Arsenal, where he had fallen out of favour due to discipline issues.

Potter out, Aubameyang to follow?

The signing of the Gabon international is seen by some as the lack of joined up thinking in the club’s transfer policy. After all, days after the veteran attacker arrived at the club, Thomas Tuchel was sacked and a new manager was installed.

Potter was never likely to take to Aubameyang and his minutes were slashed.

Meanwhile, it is uncertain how long ‘Auba’ will remain at Chelsea. There is interest in him from around Europe and the Blues, given their focus on creating a vibrant, young team could well make a sale.

Barcelona see Aubameyang as a low-cost option to act as a backup to Robert Lewandowski, while Inter are reportedly considering a move for a player who turned out for AC Milan earlier in his career.