Soccer Soccer – La Liga – Getafe v FC Barcelona – Coliseum Alfonso Perez, Getafe, Spain – May 15, 2022 FC Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the warm-up before the match REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/Files
Sept 1 (Reuters) – Chelsea have signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona on a two-year deal that will see the Gabonese striker return to the Premier League, the two clubs announced on Thursday.
The transfer was announced after the 2200 GMT deadline but Chelsea submitted the documents to the Premier League in time for the former Arsenal striker to arrive in London late on Thursday.
Barcelona say Chelsea have agreed to pay €12 million ($11.94 million) to strengthen their forward line; With Aubameyang, who was previously at Borussia Dortmund under coach Thomas Tuchel.
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“I’m really happy, it’s an honor to be a part of this team and I can’t wait to get started. I have some unfinished business with the Premier League so it’s good to be back,” Aubameyang said in a statement.
Aubameyang has scored 13 goals in 24 games for Barcelona, but after signing Polish striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and needing to offload players to comply with La Liga’s financial rules.
Aubameyang is no stranger to the Premier League having spent four years at Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal, scoring 92 goals in all competitions.
The 33-year-old was the league’s top scorer in the 2018-19 season and led Arsenal to the FA Cup the following campaign.
However, the Gabon international was embroiled in a disciplinary dispute with Arsenal and their manager Mikel Arteta last season. He was initially stripped of the captaincy before his contract was terminated in February before moving to Barcelona.
Chelsea have been without a recognized striker since Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter Milan on loan and Timo Werner returned to RB Leipzig.
Chelsea have also announced the signing of Swiss international Denis Zakaria from Juventus on a one-year loan deal, and the English club could make the midfielder permanent at the end of the season.
Midfield reinforcements were the need of the hour at Chelsea, with Tuchel admitting that N’Golo Kante’s head injury will keep him out for several weeks, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also out.
The London club finished 10th after five games and signed a number of big-name players in the transfer window, including Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Meanwhile, full-back Marcos Alonso, who joined Chelsea in 2016 for 23 million pounds ($26.6 million) and has one year remaining on his contract, has joined Barcelona, according to media reports.
($1 = 1.0052 euros)($1 = 0.8663 pounds)
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Reporting by Manasi Pathak and Rohit Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davies, Richard Pullin and Sri Navaratnam
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