European giants monitoring out-of-favour Chelsea star's situation ahead of the summer transfer window - Reports
Inter Milan are reportedly planning a move for Chelsea star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the summer. The striker is set to be free to leave Stamford Bridge as he is not in Graham Potter's plans.
As per a report in Gazzetta, Inter have jumped into the race to sign Aubameyang in the summer. They are now competing with Barcelona and MLS sides for the forward's signature.
The report claims that Inter see Aubameyang as the perfect alternative to Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian has not been at his best this season and isn't likely to see his loan deal extended in the summer.
Barcelona are also looking to re-sign their former player when the window opens. They were keen on signing him in January too, but La Liga rules prevented them from doing so.
Aubameyang has not featured often for Chelsea, but Potter insisted the forward still has a chance to start, saying:
"He is competing for a place in the squad. Good response to the situation we've been in. He is available for selection."
Chelsea hint at Aubameyang decision amid Inter and Barcelona interest
Chelsea left out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from their Champions League squad for the knockout phase this season. They had to deregister one player to accommodate a new signing and Potter decided to drop the former Arsenal star.
Explaining his decision, Potter said:
"I don't think it's going to be difficult [not having Aubameyang] because Pierre's a professional and of course I understand he will be disappointed. It was a tough decision, a tough call, we had three coming in and two had to go out, so he was the one that missed out."
He added:
"He's done nothing wrong at all. We wanted to give David some game time today, in terms of seeing where he's at and give him that opportunity. We saw that one flash of what he's got. Pierre's just unfortunate and he'll be fighting for his place for the rest of the season."
Potter continued:
"Whichever decision we made there was always going to be a conversation about it, of course, but it was my decision. It was a tough decision, absolutely, but sometimes you have to make these calls and like I said it is absolutely nothing bad against him. He's done nothing wrong at all."
Chelsea face Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League next month.