LONDON (AP) — Chelsea signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona before the summer transfer window closed Thursday, giving manager Thomas Tuchel a new striker a season after they couldn’t make it work with Romelu Lukaku.
The 33-year-old Aubameyang returns to the Premier League after just seven months in Barcelona, where he moved after being released by Arsenal. The deal was reportedly valued at $14 million.
“I have some unfinished business with the Premier League so it’s good to be back and really exciting,” said Aubameyang, who has signed a two-year contract in a transfer announced by Chelsea nearly 90 minutes after the deadline passed.
The west London club is the biggest spender in Europe this window after an outlay of about $280 million.
Aubameyang won’t be immediately available for Chelsea after sustaining a jaw injury in a home invasion this week in Spain. Armed thieves hit the Gabon international in the face and forced him to open a safe for jewelry, authorities said.
Aubameyang, who scored 13 goals in 23 appearances overall for Barcelona, was expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
The Gabon striker played for Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund.
Lukaku is at Inter Milan on a one-year loan deal less than a year after joining Chelsea for $135 million as the seventh most expensive soccer player ever at the time.
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