19 July 2023 , 14:59
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Chelsea are now expected to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave the club to join Marseille for free, despite initially wanting a transfer fee for the forward.
The ex-Arsenal man is on the verge of a return to Ligue 1 a decade after he last played in the French top division with Saint-Etienne. Aubameyang has seriously underwhelmed at Stamford Bridge and that is highlighted by the fact the Blues are willing to green-light his exit without receiving any compensation.
As per the Telegraph, Chelsea were initially holding out for Marseille to fork out a fee before sanctioning Aubameyang's exit. Their U-turn means that while there is still some work to be done before the deal can be announced, it is expected to go through within the next 24 hours as the forward travels to the south of France on Wednesday evening.
It marks the end of a miserable spell of Aubameyang's career, one that has in truth seen rarely little upside since he was exiled from the Arsenal first-team by boss Mikel Arteta in late 2021.
There was brief respite at Barcelona, where the Gabon international looked somewhat closer to being back to his best in fleeting moments. However, his time at the Camp Nou was short once Chelsea came calling and the Blues, then under the guidance of Thomas Tuchel, paid just under £10million for his services.
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Aubameyang had worked with Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, but the duo got just one game together at Chelsea before the latter was sacked from his post as manager.
Tuchel was succeeded by Graham Potter, who swiftly took the step of omitting Aubameyang from Chelsea's 25-man Champions League squad. His comments would have hardly made for comforting reading from the forward's perspective.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has agreed a move to Marseille (Getty Images)Mirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here.
"I don’t think it’s going to be difficult [not having Aubameyang] because Pierre’s a professional and of course, I understand he will be disappointed. It was a tough decision, a tough call, we had three coming in and two had to go out, so he was the one that missed out."
Aubameyang's move to Chelsea saw him burn the last of his Arsenal bridges, which was evident when he returned to the Emirates donning the blue shirt and had his every touch jeered while his former team-mates ran out 3-1 winners.
Prior to that, he had faced the Gunners at Stamford Bridge, but again Arteta had the last laugh as Arsenal won 1-0 while Aubameyang was hauled off having had just seven touches all game.
A parting of ways and a Premier League exit may be the best thing for Aubameyang as he looks to recapture the kind of form that once made him so deadly in front of goal at Arsenal, given current Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino clearly deems his surplus to requirements.