Chelsea have been linked with a stunning move for former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The striker only left England in January to join Barcelona, but is already on the possible list of outgoings from Catalonia as Juan Laporta tries to shift some of the financial issues, even temporarily.
Thomas Tuchel also isn't hiding his desperation for reinforcements at Chelsea. He has been extremely public with his desire for not only new signings but also an exodus of outgoings as well as the transfer window enters its final month.
The new ownership group with Todd Boehly as the outward facing negotiator has been busier and more active in the market than any other owner to memory, but has still only completed two senior signings, though deals for Gabriel Slonina and Carney Chukwuemeka indicate some sense of long-term planning as well.
Chelsea face Everton on Saturday though and have a tricky start to the Premier League season, hence Tuchel's desire to have new faces in the squad early as he juggles with squad issues, contract logistics and on-field management.
That has led him down the route of experience, favouring that over the risk and time consuming path of developing Chelsea's own younger players, which raises its own questions. But Tuchel has already shown that when given the right tools, he can create innovative ways to be successful
Aubameyang joined Barcelona on a free transfer after running down his contract at the Emirates but his large wages and Barcelona's financial turmoil have seen him become open to a move back to England just seven months later after scoring 13 times in Spain.
The 33-year-old had two brilliant years in Germany under Tuchel where he scored 56 league goals in 61 matches before both parties moved on. Since then, Tuchel has praised his former player, saying this in December: "I will at some point [call him]. But, you know, I don’t want to also disturb [him],' the Chelsea manager said this week.
"I think he was a very important player for me and we had a very close relationship until today. When we meet it’s still always very, very nice. I can only say the best things about Auba as a player and as a person. I feel sorry for him that he’s in trouble. This is not where he should be with his kind of quality and the positive character that he has – and I still believe in that
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