Chelsea is a failure Aubameyang is cut from the Champions League team, along with four players for £92 million.
Chelsea had to be brutal in order to make place for three new January acquisitions.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been cut off Chelsea’s Champions League roster. Manager Graham Potter needed to make way for January additions Joao Felix, Mykhaylo Mudryk, and Enzo Fernandez, therefore Aubameyang and four other prominent players were left off the list.
The Blues recruited Aubameyang from Barcelona on the final day of the transfer window last summer, reuniting him with former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel. However, the sirens may have begun to sound for the striker when Chelsea fired Tuchel just days after the transfer market closed.
With only one goal in the Premier League this season, the former Arsenal attacker has fallen down the pecking order under Potter, who prefers other options up front. 23 of the 25 spots in the manager’s Champions League roster were already occupied, so fans knew he would have to make a difficult decision.
UEFA only permits the registration of three additional eligible players before this week’s deadline. Felix, Mudryk, and Fernandez were the most obvious contenders for inclusion, hence one of the current team members was doomed to be cut.
Many believed that third-string goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli or out-of-favor wingers Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech may be cut. It so came as a surprise to the majority when Aubameyang was released.
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In his illustrious career, the Gabonese has scored 17 Champions League goals, including two against AC Milan in this season’s group stages. Felix’s arrival and Armando Broja’s eventual recuperation will only delay Aubameyang’s pursuit for a few minutes.
Benoit Badiashile, who has played two full Premier League games since arriving from Monaco for £35 million, did not make the cut due to the fact that only three new players could be registered. Exciting £29 million winger Noni Madueke was also left out after his January transfer from PSV Eindhoven.
Two of the more predictable omissions are Brazilian teenager Andrey Santos and Ivory Coast international David Datro Fofana, who joined Chelsea for a combined £28 million last month. Early indications of a schism between Potter and Aubameyang surfaced during a January match against Manchester City, in which the striker came on as a substitute before being replaced at the conclusion of the game.
“He came on after one minute and hadn’t played for a while,” explained Potter after the final whistle. “He put in a shift for us and I thought he did his bit for the team. He fatigued a bit so we thought we needed a bit of energy and the subs brought that.
“I haven’t had time to speak to him in depth but he understands. Players want to help the team and it’s a decision that had to be made. He gave everything for the team. That was the decision.”
