Chelsea forward dead set on Barcelona move in the summer despite managerial change

 It is more than evident that Barcelona manager Xavi wants a new striker in the summer. When it comes to transfer targets, Pierre-Emerick Aubamyeng’s name is as plain as a pikestaff, although the priority for Barcelona is going to be the acquisition of Vitor Roque.

As it turns out, given Roque’s reputation in Europe and the demand he has generated across the continent, negotiating a lower price is going to be extremely complicated for the Blaugrana.

This is where Aubameyang comes into the picture. According to SPORT, the Chelsea forward is very clear about his desire of playing for Barcelona and can, in fact, prove to be a temporary solution for Xavi.

Now, there are reports that the managerial change at Chelsea may alter his situation at Stamford Bridge. It must be remembered that under Graham Potter, the Gabon international held little to no value, but Frank Lampard’s arrival as the caretaker manager might change things.

Be that as it may, the change at Chelsea has not changed Aubameyang’s position that in the summer, he wants to return to Barça.

Interestingly enough, Aubmeyang was close to leaving Chelsea during the January transfer market. While he had offers from Major League Soccer, he wanted to return to Barcelona but having already played for two teams in the same season, he could not move to Catalonia.

Amidst the uncertainty regarding his future, SPORT claims that the 33-year-old continues to be in touch with several Barcelona players.

Above all, he has made Xavi known that he intends to return and the manager is open to having him for the next season mostly because he was quite influential during his previous tenure with the team.

At Chelsea, the 33-year-old hardly featured under Potter, but it will be interesting to see how Lampard makes use of his services until the end of the season. In any way, the star forward wants to return to Barcelona and is waiting for the team to make a decision.

All this, however, is not going to be as easy as it sounds for the Blaugrana mostly because Chelsea are not willing to sanction his sale to Barcelona.

Now, although the player and Barça are on the same page, they believe the best formula would be a loan deal as long as he is willing to lower his salary.

This is mostly because Barcelona’s priority is Roque and if they are unable to land him this summer, they will try to strike a deal for the next season. In case of this delay, Auabmeyang would be a perfect fit.