Pochettino brutally tells unwanted Chelsea star to delay pre-season return
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is already swinging his axe in west London and has told Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay away from pre-season training until next week.
The Blues are hoping to offload the ex-Arsenal man before then, with Aubameyang not a key figure in Pochettino's plans moving forward. Chelsea have already parted ways with a number of former first-teamers so far this window, including goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly who have both upped sticks to Saudi Arabia.
Pochettino wants to continue the mass exodus in a bid to trim his squad before the season starts and has identified Aubameyang as the next player in his firing line. The Gabon international is not the only Chelsea striker who could be heading for the exit however.
Romelu Lukaku remains firm in his stance that he wants to stay at Inter Milan, where he spent last term on loan, on a permanent basis. The Serie A titans have seen their first offer of £23million swiftly rejected, but there is optimism from both parties that a deal can be struck.
Much like Aubameyang, Lukaku had been scheduled to return to Chelsea's Cobham training base this week, but has now been told he too can wait until negotiations with Inter reach a conclusion. There's every chance Lukaku has made his last trip to the capital as a Blues player.
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Aubameyang didn't cost anywhere near as much as the £98m Lukaku, but has been equally underwhelming since pulling on the Chelsea shirt and has been given the same treatment by Pochettino, as per The Telegraph. His own exit is not as imminent as Lukaku's thought to be, though there is mounting interest from a number of Saudi outfits.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has struggled since his move to Chelsea and is expected to be moved on by Mauricio Pochettino (Getty Images)Mirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here
The Middle East seems to be the place to be for Chelsea's exiled fringe players, with Hakim Ziyech also angling for a second stab at a move out there after he failed a medical at Al-Nassr. It is unlikely he ends up as a team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo's, given Al-Nassr's second offer came with a drastically reduced wage.
On the off chance that none of the deals expected to go through are finalised by Chelsea's deadline, it is possible that the likes of Aubameyang and Ziyech are asked to train away from the rest of the first-team.
One player already doing that is Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is believed to have made clear to the Chelsea hierarchy that he wants out of Stamford Bridge this summer after spending last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.
It is highly unlikely that any of the high-profile figures cast aside by Pochettino will make the trip to the USA for Chelsea's pre-season tour. The Blues jet off to the states on Monday, the first time they have travelled the nation as part of a summer tour.
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