Former Chelsea star Craig Burley believes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will only move to Stamford Bridge this summer if Roman Abramovich is willing to break the bank for the Arsenal captain.
Aubameyang has enjoyed another reputation enhancing season and is contention to win a second successive Premier League Golden Boot Award. The Gabon international, who turns 31 later this month, has just over 12 months remaining on his current contract and will assess his options come the summer.
Mikel Arteta, who has made a positive impression since succeeding Unai Emery, is reportedly set to make a personal plea to his current skipper, but he faces a difficult task given Arsenal’s precarious financial predicament and a likely lack of Champions League football to offer.
The likes of Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as PSG, are carefully monitoring Aubemyang’s situation, while there is interest in the former Borussia Dortmund star closer to home.
Abramovich is reportedly set to provide Frank Lampard with two marquee signings this summer, but the Chelsea boss, himself, will face no easy task in persuading Aubameyang to cross the London divide, according to Burley.
He told ESPN: ‘Look is Aubameyang one of the hottest strikers around? Absolutely. His goalscoring stats, even beyond the last two years, but certainly the last couple of seasons, at Arsenal, he’s produced the goods.
‘But he is going to be 31 soon and you know Chelsea have been in the process of bringing in younger players. Clearly they need a striker, someone to come in with more experience and more quality than Tammy Abraham who has done a very good job.
‘Clearly they are in the market for a striker. Are they in the market to shell out for a 31-year-old who they probably will get a couple of years out of? Potentially they are but only for the right price. We know Arsenal are not desperate to let him go unless they get a bumper deal.
‘There is a lot of bluff and also the fact that Arsenal are trying to sell the fact that they are going to be much better next year they may still get in the Champions League as an outside bet.
‘Chelsea have to sell the project as well. They are not on the coat tails of Liverpool they themselves are fighting for Champions League football next year.’
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