Chelsea owners ‘reassure Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’ after Thomas Tuchel sacking
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ‘has been reassured that he wasn’t signed just to please former manager Thomas Tuchel and does have a role to play at Chelsea.’
Chelsea completed the £10.3million signing of the forward from Barcelona on transfer deadline day last week, reuniting him with Tuchel following their time working together at Borussia Dortmund.
Aubameyang, 33, had been looking forward to working with Tuchel again but the German was sacked on Wednesday in the wake of their Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was reunited with Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea – but only briefly
The pair worked productively together at Borussia Dortmund and Aubameyang had expected to work under Tuchel again when he joined Chelsea
The Gabon international played 59 minutes in Croatia before being replaced by Armando Broja in what proved to be Tuchel’s final game in charge.
Despite Tuchel’s quick exit prompting criticism of the new Chelsea ownership, the Daily Telegraph report that the player has been reassured and is looking forward to playing under incoming manager Graham Potter.
While co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali addressed the Chelsea squad following Tuchel’s sacking, Aubameyang was also phoned personally to explain the situation.
Naturally, Aubameyang had anticipated Tuchel being his manager at Stamford Bridge and this was a factor in deciding to make the return to Premier League football.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has reportedly reassured Aubameyang (right) he will still play
Brighton manager Graham Potter is set to become Tuchel’s replacement at Chelsea
Aubameyang played 59 minutes on his Chelsea debut in the 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb
The Telegraph said Aubameyang was reassured by the explanation from Chelsea’s owners and believes the club wanted him despite knowing it was likely Tuchel would be fired.
Potter is set to be in the dug-out for Saturday’s trip to Fulham in the Premier League with Aubameyang likely to feature while wearing a protective face mask following injuries sustained in a violent robbery at his family home in Barcelona last week.
It is hoped Aubameyang will be able to play without the mask in a week or two.