Aston Villa may explore summer move for Chelsea forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – The Athletic
Aston Villa could “explore” a move for Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer, according to reports in The Athletic.
The Gabonese forward, who has already worked under Unai Emery from the pair’s shared time at Arsenal, has struggled for minutes this season under Graham Potter following his Stamford Bridge move from Barcelona last summer.
Aubameyang has only scored one league goal in 11 appearances for Chelsea since, however, despite joining in a deal [Sky Sports, 2 September] worth around £10.6 million.
And with Emery on the lookout for attacking reinforcements following the £15million [Sky Sports, 20 January] sale of Danny Ings to West Ham this month, the Gabon international has been identified as a potential shock option during the summer.
According to The Athletic [25 January], Emery is “fond of” the Chelsea striker following their time together at Arsenal and that he may be an “option explored in the summer”.
Steer Clear
It is no secret of Emery’s desire to bolster his attacking weaponry following the sale of Ings, but signing Aubameyang certainly isn’t the solution.
The Gabon international’s qualities and ability to perform at the top level look to be on the wane, especially with his game-time dramatically decreasing at Stamford Bridge, with Potter preferring Kai Havertz up front.
There may well be younger, fresher and more exciting options elsewhere. Or maybe the Villans should trust in new signing Jhon Duran to lead the line in the immediate future as he is a future star that Emery will certainly be excited to work with.
The Villa faithful won’t be happy about these Aubameyang reports, as they’ll be demanding a much more potent attacking outlook for next season.
The Gabon international just doesn’t fit that mould anymore. Emery should steer clear of a potential reunion.