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What's the story?
Chelsea are reportedly looking to sign either Manchester City's Sergio Aguero or Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to replace Diego Costa in the squad. Having seen a transfer for Romelu Lukaku break down with the Belgian striker moving to Manchester United in a £75m move, the Blues are already looking at other options.
According to Spanish journalist Manu Sainz, who works for popular outlets such as AS and Cadena SER, Aguero is a target for the Premier League champions. The 29-year-old Argentine striker has spent six seasons in England with Manchester City but has seen limited game time under Pep Guardiola - who is reportedly ready to let him move to domestic rivals.
On the other hand, Chelsea also had a €65m bid for Aubameyang reportedly turned down by Dortmund. However, the Bundesliga club is ready to sit down with the London club and possibly negotiate a higher transfer fee.
In case you didn't know...
Antonio Conte had already informed Costa that the Spanish striker was no longer in his plans for the next season.
The Italian manager had a tough time handling the Costa situation last season who had his head turned by Atletico Madrid and Chinese Super League clubs. Although Costa played a crucial role in the league title win, Conte informed the striker via text message that he was free to look for another club.
Also read: Antonio Conte - the mad genius and the relentless quest for perfection
Atletico's transfer ban prevents the club from registering Costa until 2018 and it has put a big question mark over Costa's future.
The heart of the matter
Both Aubameyang and Aguero have had contrasting seasons. Aubameyang won the Golden Boot (aka the Kicker Torjägerkanone) with 31 goals in the league last season. However, Dortmund failed to mount a title challenge under Thomas Tuchel and eventually finished third behind champions Bayern Munich and newly-promoted side RB Leipzig, leading to his dismissal.
Aguero did not have a prolific season and was even benched in favour of new signing Gabriel Jesus until the Brazilian suffered a foot injury. Aguero, who won the Golden Boot in 2014/15, still managed to score 20 league goals.
Both players are disillusioned at their current clubs and are looking for moves elsewhere. Chelsea seems like the ideal destination with no real competition up front apart from 23-year-old Michy Batshuayi - a player Conte is yet to fully trust.
What's next?
Even though Chelsea have made signings such as Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko to shore up the defence and midfield, they are desperately in need of a striker.
Signing Aguero would require a massive bid as the player has two years left on his City contract. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has also fired a warning that if the club will not wait much longer to receive an acceptable bid for Aubameyang.
Author's take
With Chelsea back in the Champions League this season, they have one extra competition and need all the squad depth they can get. Following Costa's inevitable departure, a striker of the same calibre (if not better) is the need of the hour and in Aguero and Aubameyang they have two viable targets to improve the team.
The club will not sign both players. But should they fail to land either target, it will become increasingly difficult to convince Conte to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge, especially after the club missed out on previous targets.
