Barcelona face Italian competition in race for Chelsea striker – report | OneFootball

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s journey at Chelsea has not gone as he would have hoped. The striker, who signed for the Blues in the summer of 2022, is already said to be plotting a move away and in that regard, a potential return to Barcelona is thought to be on the cards.

It is anticipated that the player would certainly love to return to Barcelona but things are not that straightforward, to say the very least. In January, the Blues gave him an option of moving to Major League Soccer, but things have changed drastically at Stamford Bridge.

Given Chelsea’s expenditure over the last few months, they need to recoup the economic losses and for that, they are ready to explore the market opportunities to attract more offers for the attacker.

Now, Chelsea are indeed looking for a new forward for the next season and one must keep in mind that they do have Romelu Lukaku who would be returning from loan at the end of the season.

“I really admire him as a player, I really like him,” says Chelsea boss Graham Potter of Lukaku, hence confirming that Chelsea would welcome the big Belgian back.

This would pave way for Aubameyang to force an exit. The arrival of the Belgium forward is expected to be the final roll of the dice for Aubameyang.

According to Spanish publication SPORT, however, Chelsea are not liking the fact that both Aubameyang and Barcelona are willing to wait until the final moment to make this transfer a reality.

This is where the Serie A side Inter chips in. With Lukaku gone, the Italians are expected to bet on Aubameyang, which puts everything in jeopardy for the Blaugrana.

If this move materialises, Barcelona will be forced to look elsewhere despite the fact that the player, himself, wants to move to Camp Nou.