Chelsea officially have Aubameyang in and say goodbye to Alonso


Friday, September 2, 2022 at 07:51• Wessel Antes

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has left Barcelona for Chelsea after seven months. In the final hours of the transfer window, the Londoners announced the arrival of the 33-year-old striker. Contrasted with this was the transfer-free departure of Marcos Alonso, who seems to be going the opposite way. According to BBC Barça will receive another twelve million euros for Aubameyang.

The transfer from Aubameyang to the Blues had been in the air for weeks, but is finally final with the announcement. After the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, Chelsea often played with Kai Havertz in the point of attack in recent weeks. Barcelona did not just want to cooperate in the transfer, as it first asked for 27 million euros for the Gabonese. That amount is now much lower. This is most likely related to Alonso’s contract termination, as the Spanish left-back has been interested in Barca for months.

Aubameyang says via the club website that he is very happy with the switch to London. “I am very happy. It’s an honor to be part of this team and I can’t wait to get started. I still have some work to do in the Premier League, so it’s good to be back and I’m thrilled.” Previously, Aubameyang played a 4.5-year period for fellow city rivals Arsenal. The striker is expected to be deployable in three weeks, given the broken jaw he sustained during last Sunday’s brutal robbery.

Alonso saw his contract terminated and can now go where he pleases, although Barcelona looks set to be his next destination. The 31-year-old left-back made 212 official appearances for Chelsea in six seasons, scoring 29 times and providing 23 assists. Chelsea was very active on the last transfer day anyway: in addition to Aubameyang, Denis Zakaria came on loan from Juventus, while former top talent Billy Gilmour closed the door at Stamford Bridge for an employment with Brighton & Hove Albion.