Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has previously made it clear just how much he enjoyed working with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when they were together at Borussia Dortmund.
The German tactician could do with making a new signing up front after sending Romelu Lukaku out on loan to Inter Milan this summer, with the Belgium international not living up to expectations in his single season at Stamford Bridge last term.
Aubameyang, meanwhile, left Dortmund for Arsenal and enjoyed his time in the Premier League, while he’s now looking back to his best since moving to Barcelona back in January.
As reported by Relevo below, Chelsea seem to be making progress on signing Aubameyang…
Acuerdo ?????? – ??????? por Aubameyang.
? Ambos clubes tienen muy avanzado el traspaso del delantero, en una operación cercana a los 22M + 5M en variables.
? Hay optimismo en que se pueda cerrar en las próximas horas.@tjuanmarti ? @albert_roge pic.twitter.com/2UySwLi2cu
— Relevo (@relevo) August 22, 2022
With this development, football.london have looked back at just how fondly Tuchel has spoken about the Gabon international in the past, putting to bed any concerns about his attitude or temperament.
Off-the-pitch issues seemed to lead to Aubameyang losing his place at Arsenal, but it seems likely that Tuchel would have no worries about that.
“It was a pure pleasure to have him in the squad. Auba was a fantastic striker, a fantastic finisher. More than that, he was a fantastic worker off the pitch. I think he did not miss one single training in two years,” Tuchel said.
“Maybe he arrived five minutes late on the training ground, that can happen with him. But if he does this, he is in a hurry, he excuses, he feels sorry, he has still a smile on his face.
“It was a pleasure to work with him. He always had a smile on his face. He was a very, very honest guy. A bit of a crazy guy, but this is nice crazy. We still are in touch from time to time and exchange messages when one of us has a big win. In some way, he will still always be my player and feels like he will always be my player, so you want him to succeed.
“This contact [between us] never fully stopped and it’s nice to see him because he’s always on for a hug and it’s nice to see him laugh.”