Chelsea suffer blow over 299-goal Lukaku replacement at Stamford Bridge | OneFootball

Chelsea target Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is wanted by current club Barcelona despite the speculation surrounding his future, according to journalist Dean Jones.

Aubameyang has reportedly come onto Thomas Tuchel’s radar as he continues to search for a new striker but concluding a deal for him could prove to be a difficult task.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that Chelsea are ‘now considering’ a move for the 33-year-old with discussions having ‘already started’ with the player.

Despite Aubameyang only arriving at Camp Nou six months ago and his contract still having three years left to run, his future at the club has been thrown into doubt following the arrival of Robert Lewandowski.

And Chelsea could look to take advantage of that situation by making a surprise move for the Gabon international, who has racked up 299 senior club goals throughout his career, before September’s deadline.

Romelu Lukaku has been allowed to re-join Inter Milan on a season-long loan just 12 months after signing for the Blues in a club-record £97.5 million deal, while Timo Werner is close to re-signing for RB Leipzig.

That would leave 20-year-old Armando Broja as Chelsea only recognised striker in their senior squad and Tuchel will surely want to address that shortcoming as soon as possible.

What has Jones said about Aubameyang?

Jones has informed GiveMeSport that despite Lewandowski’s arrival, the Catalan giants intend to retain the services of Aubameyang as they want ‘two players for each position’.

He told GMS: “I’ve checked this out, and the message is that Barcelona do not want to sell him.

“They want two players for each position, and he’s kind of seen as Lewandowski’s number two if you like.

“He can obviously play in other positions across the frontline too, but ultimately, they think that Aubameyang’s the guy that steps forward with the goals at times that Lewandowski might not be there.”

Who else could Chelsea sign?

90min have reported that Chelsea are one of a ‘number of clubs’ closely monitoring the situation of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.

The 35-year-old enjoyed an impressive 2021/22 season, bagging 17 goals for the Foxes in all competitions despite being in the twilight of his career while also setting up two strikes for his teammates.

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Manchester United are also named amongst Vardy’s potential suitors as clubs look to take advantage of the fact the veteran marksman only has one year remaining on his current contract.

Signing Vardy would represent a shock move by Chelsea, but he could be an ideal candidate to provide an additional goal threat to Tuchel’s forward line in the short term at least.