Look, whichever way you look at it, Chelsea have imploded this summer. The expectations were that they will sweep their targets into the shopping carts and check out with ease, but that has not been the case.
Their shopping spree this summer does not reflect the success they chalked in the course of last season beating teams mercilessly in pursuit of the Premier League trophy.
The Blues have failed to win over fans and most importantly their manager this summer with the unheralded reluctance to complete deals. Several names have been linked to the club – Alex Sandro’s move to London has dragged to no fruition while top target Romelu Lukaku officially joins Manchester United rather than a return to the Bridge. Tiemoue Bakayoko’s deal looks like a 10,000m Olympic race where Chelsea will cross the finish line in the next two summer transfer windows.
But time is the commodity Chelsea don’t have on their side at the moment. They need to complete deals as soon as possible and Lukaku’s deal to United signals Chelsea might just suffer next season – thanks to Antonio Conte’s text to Diego Costa – if a striker is not found as soon as possible.
That brings us to the options available to Chelsea this summer. Blues fans are split on who should arrive, but sentiments aside, the facts and numbers lead to only one best option – Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored 31 goals in the Bundesliga during 2016/17; the most ever managed by a foreign player in a single season. 🇬🇦 pic.twitter.com/oRGfAkL2hv
— Squawka (@Squawka) July 9, 2017
Yes, he’s not from a stellar football nation like Spain, Brazil or Italy and will not command mammoth transfer fees top players from these countries often attract, but he is the true gem among the stars on show for sale this period.
Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata is one case of a super high-priced player as is Torino’s Andrea Belotti who could be secured for around £90m.
At £71m, Aubameyang is a cost effective option and truly offers a better goal mouth presence than his rivals. The German Bundesliga keeps producing fine strikers and the last few years have revealed the sort of quality Chelsea would get if they decide on the Gabonese international.
He has scored a remarkable 72 goals in the Bundesliga in the past three seasons, and notably all have been from inside the 18-yard area. He is the man for the goals!
According to Squawka, Aubameyang racked up a perfect 40 goals in 46 appearances last season. Those numbers make it easy to think Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo are behind them, but no, it’s the running machine of Dortmund.
Competing with the likes of Timo Werner and Robert Lewandowski for the top scorer gong in Germany last season, Aubameyang narrowly edged it with his 31 goals. He then became the first foreigner in the German top flight to rack up that number of goals for a club in a single season.
The other Chelsea targets pale in comparison to this lethal striker. There’s an argument Alvaro Morata’s numbers makes him a safer bet than most on Chelsea’s list but I bet to differ.
Morata scored no goals against the Spanish top four and produced nine of his 15 goals last season against the bottom five sides. The 24-year old has not been a regular starter at any club he’s played in and has never gone past 43% of the total minutes available in a league season. Chelsea will be gambling if they go for the Real Madrid attacker.
Andrea Belotti is clinical striker and a man who could define goal scoring at Chelsea next season if signed but he’s not better than Aubameyang.
Aubemeyang’s performances are certainly being watched by the Stamford Bridge hierarchy and they may be angling for a move for the 28-year old. According to Sky in Germany Chelsea have made a bid for his services and rightly so.
Chelsea have made a €80M bid for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang according to Sky Sports Germany.
— Sripad (@falsewinger) July 8, 2017
A deal for Aubameyang will represent a great value for money, but top officials in high echelons at Chelsea have shown in recent transfer windows, they won’t be bullied into spending where they don’t want to. So we might just not see a huge transfer from a London bank to Dortmund, but if we do, Chelsea will be the ultimate winner of the war of 2017 transfers after losing an initial battle to Man United.
