Barcelona propose astonishing asking price for Chelsea to sign Aubameyang | american football

The Blues are trying to strike a deal for the ex-Arsenal striker (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona will charge a large fee of Chelsea in front of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang although he joined the club on a free transfer earlier this year, according to reports.

The West London club are keen to add more firepower to their front lines before the post-loan transfer window closes Romelu Lukaku back to Inter and sell Timo Werner back to RB Leipzig.

That has linked them with an unexpected move for Aubameyang, with manager Thomas Tuchel doing little to downplay the speculation.

The German coach teamed up with the Gabon international at Borussia Dortmund and spoke this week about the “close bond” they still share.

Aubameyang only moved to the Camp Nou in February this year, with Arsenal agreeing to tear up his £350,000-a-week contract on the deadline so he could join Barca after the window closed.

After a frustrating time at Arsenal in the first half of the 2021-2022 season, which was marked by disciplinary issues and saw him lose the captaincy, Aubameyang has made a comeback at Barca.

The 33-year-old scored 11 goals in 17 La Liga appearances and helped the squad finish second despite being in a battle to qualify for the Champions League when he joined.

Tuchel is keen to be reunited with Aubameyang (Picture: Getty)

But the arrival of Robert Lewandowski has pushed Aubameyang down the ranks and he came only in the last eight minutes of Barcelona’s goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Barcelona – who still have not signed Jules Kunde due to their financial problems – are keen to sack the attacker, as the terms of his contract mean he now has a much higher salary this season than last season.

Despite Barca’s openness to sell Aubameyang, reliable Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, speaking on his Jijantes FC Twitch showsay the Catalan side is seeking significant compensation from Chelsea.

Barcelona are seeking compensation in the region of €25m (£21m) to €28m (23m), which is about half the compensation they paid Bayern Munich to Lewandowski – which is used as a barometer .

While the Catalan club are optimistic they can get decent compensation from Chelsea, it is believed the West Londoners would have been shocked at that asking price and would be willing to pay considerably less for a player in the twilight of his career who has a high pay.

Speaking of Aubameyang, Tuchel said last week: “Some players remain your players because you work very, very closely together, Auba is one of these players. We had a very close relationship.

“When we played him here at Arsenal, there was always an instant bond. They will always be your players in a way, Auba is one of those guys.”

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