Former winger Gustavo Poyet believe the club should sign striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang to replace as the ‘perfect’ replacement for Timo Werner.
Germany international Werner is set to return to RB Leipzig on a permanent transfer in the coming days, having only moved to Stamford Bridge from the Bundesliga club two years ago.
The 26-year-old has won the UEFA , Super Cup, and Club World Cup in that time, but has generally disappointed with his performances and scored a meagre 23 goals in 89 appearances, far fewer than would have been expected when the Blues agreed to pay his £47.5m release clause under previous manager Frank Lampard.
With Romelu Lukaku having been loaned back to Inter Milan after his own disappointing second spell with the club, the Chelsea squad no longer possesses a traditional striker, and new signing Raheem Sterling started up front in the opening day 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park.
That has led to speculation linking them with Gabonese international Aubameyang, who left Arsenal for Barcelona in January but is now deemed surplus to requirements from the summer signing of Robert Lewandowski, and Poyet believes the 33-year-old would be a good signing for Thomas Tuchel to make.
‘Aubameyang would be perfect for Chelsea,’ the former Sunderland, brighton and Bordeaux manager told . ‘He looks happy and back to his best scoring goals.’
Chelsea and Barcelona’s respective summers have been heavily interwoven, with Andreas Christensen swapping London for Catalonia, Marcos Alonso likely to follow him, Cesar Azpilicueta being heavily linked with a switch to the Blaugrana before signing a new contract with the Blues, and former Sevilla defender Jules Kounde opting for the Camp Nou over Stamford Bridge.
Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong has also emerged as a potential Chelsea target as the La Liga side look to raise funds in order to abide by the division’s financial rules. As long as they are in breach of those, summer arrivals including Christensen, Kounde, Lewandowski, Franck Kessie and Raphinha cannot be registered as squad members.
For Poyet, the approach does not make much sense.
‘I do not know why Chelsea and Barcelona are constantly trying to sign and steal the same players from each other this summer,’ Poyet said. ‘Both clubs want similar players even though they are nothing alike.’
Poyet scored 36 goals in 105 appearances for Chelsea between 1997 and 2001, winning the FA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in his time in West London.
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