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What’s the story?
It has been widely reported that AC Milan were moving in on Borussia Dortmund superstar and Gabonese talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as they seek to cap their comprehensive squad overhaul with a genuine A-grade superstar signing. Chelsea, however, have other plans and are planning a hijack of their own as per football italia. Smarting from the loss of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United – and with Diego Costa still undecided on his future – the Champions of England are desperate to have a world-class forward in their side.
A number of elite clubs, including, PSG had been on the hunt for Aubameyang – but it looks like it will eventually boil down to a fight between Chelsea and Milan.
In case you didn’t know
After working his way through a number of youth football systems including ASL L’Huisserie, Nice, Laval, Rouen and Bastia, the Gabonese ended up at the AC Milan youth academy, but he was never really given a chance with the senior team and was instead farmed out to Dijon, Lille, Monaco, and Saint-Etienne on loan before the latter club bought him in 2011. After two scintillating years in Ligue 1 where he scored 29 goals in 54, Borussia Dortmund came a-calling.
Aubameyang has gone from strength to strength with the German giants and his current record in the Bundesliga stands at 85 goals scored in just 128 games and is the current holder of the Bundesliga golden boot. The captain and talisman of his national team, the forward has also netted 23 times in just 55 games for Gabon.
The heart of the matter
Milan are going hammer and tongs to get the man they let go as a youngster (someone say... Manchester United, somewhere?) and are willing to give the Gabonese 8 million euros a year as wages – which will make him the highest paid player in Serie A! Chelsea, though, have no shortage of funds and are desperate to make a big money signing – to strengthen their forward line as well as to appease their supposedly furious coach, Antonio Conte.
Conte, no stranger to getting one over Milan (anyone remember Andrea Pirlo?), will be looking forward to doing it once again.
Video
Some Auba magic for you:
The man is FAST!
Author’s take
It’s strange that more clubs haven’t been interested in Aubemyang, especially after Borussia Dortmund’s apparent willingness to listen to offers. With the kind of astronomical figures being thrown around, £71 million for a proven goalscorer at the highest level doesn’t seem like too risky a punt.
