Barcelona have made Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang their top No 9 target this
summer on a striker list that also includes😊 Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino.
The LaLiga
leaders want to re-sign Aubameyang, who made a lasting impression on the Barca dressing
room during😊 his spell at the club last year, as competition for Robert
Lewandowski.
Manager Xavi is understood to see the Gabon striker😊 as a slightly
different option to the Poland captain, but the financial aspect of re-signing him from
Chelsea will not😊 be straightforward - and Firmino will be a free agent when his
Liverpool contract expires on July 1.
Aubameyang is understood😊 to have remained a
consummate professional at Stamford Bridge having been told he would not be part of
previous boss😊 Graham Potter’s plans, and being omitted from their squad for the
Champions League knockout stages.
The 33-year-old's attitude is said to😊 have remained
first class and he has trained well with the intention of still trying to win a place
in😊 the team, having come off the bench in the games against Tottenham and Wolves this
year.
Image: Roberto Firmino will leave😊 Liverpool at the end of his contract in the
summer
Aubameyang is still not part of Chelsea’s long-term plans however, and😊 they are
happy for him to move on this summer in what is expected to be a significant clear-out
of😊 players due to the number of additions they made in the last two transfer
windows.
Barca were keen to bring Aubameyang😊 back to the club in January but were
unable to commit the necessary funds.
The club are trying to negotiate more😊 flexibility
with LaLiga for next season, which they hope will also include the return of Lionel
Messi, but they remain😊 at the limit of their financial fair play capacity as things
stand.
Firmino’s status as a free agent, having announced earlier😊 this year he would be
leaving Anfield, therefore brings him into play as another serious option, along with
another impending😊 free agent, Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram.
Barca’s list
also contains the 18-year-old Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque.
Aubameyang,
whose situation is also😊 being monitored by clubs in Italy and Germany, is understood to
be keen on a return to Barca, and the😊 intention is to work towards this outcome in the
coming weeks, with his Chelsea contract still having a year left😊 to run.
The former
Arsenal forward has not enjoyed a happy return to London with Chelsea, scoring three
goals in 20😊 appearances in all competitions - 10 of which have been starts.
Aubameyang
joined the Blues from Barcelona for £10.3m last summer😊 after a productive spell at the
Nou Camp during the second half of the 2024/22 season, scoring 13 goals in😊 24 games in
all competitions.
