Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s is ready to remain at Barcelona but is willing to hear Chelsea out should they make an approach.
The former Arsenal skipper joined the club in January after his exit from the Gunners which saw his contract terminated after he fell out with Mikel Arteta.
Aubameyang enjoyed a reputation-restoring second half to last campaign during which he scored 13 goals in all competitions but his future has become shrouded in uncertainty.
Barcelona’s financial position, allied to the high-profile arrival of Lewandowski, has shifted the picture for Aubameyang, little more than six months after he moved to Camp Nou.
According to The Telegraph, Aubameyang’s representatives are set for key discussions with Barca’s hierarchy today & Chelsea will wait for the outcome of those negotiations before deciding whether or not press ahead with a plan to sign a player who Tuchel knows well from Dortmund.
Speaking at the height of his Arsenal exile last December, Tuchel was effusive in his praise of the player and conceded he felt sorry for his former charge.
He said: ‘I can only say the best things about Auba as a player and as a person. ‘I feel sorry for him that he’s in trouble. This is not where he should be with his kind of quality and the positive character that he has – and I still believe in that.
‘But I’m not involved, and I’m not involved in what’s going on at his club now, and for this I also want to show my respect [to Arsenal] and not be involved and not judge what is right and wrong.
‘I just have my picture and my relationship with Auba and this is not affected by that.’
Chelsea are also in talks to sign Frenkie de Jong, and are reported to have agreed a fee to sign the Netherlands midfielder, although he still needs to be convinced about the merits of moving to Stamford Bridge.
Aubameyang, meanwhile, would fill the void left by the high-profile departures of Lukaku and Timo Werner.
The German star rejoined RB Leipzig on a permanent deal on Tuesday, while Lukaku is likely to spend the next two years on loan at Inter after the breakdown in his relationship with Tuchel.
Speaking again on the issues he faced last season, Lukaku told DAZN: ‘So many things. I think before, when I left, I wanted to take revenge at Chelsea because when I was young it was my team for 11 years.
‘I had the opportunity to go back there and thought I would be a hero, but that wasn’t the case.
‘In March, when I heard there was an opportunity to come back here, slowly I didn’t say anything, but toward the end of the season we did a very good job with the club and I was able to come back here.
‘I make reflections only at the end of the season, so after the last game I put myself to think what my situation was.
‘I saw that as a player with Inter I did well, the season at Chelsea for me was difficult. I had no doubts, that’s why I made the decision to come back here.’
