Comparing Aubameyang’s stats to Chelsea’s current forwards
Chelsea are reportedly close to completing a transfer deadline day deal for Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – but how do Aubameyang’s numbers compare to the forward options already at Chelsea’s disposal?
The 33-year-old striker only moved to Barcelona in January, signing a deal that runs until the summer of 2025, but the arrival of Robert Lewandowski in Spain cast doubts over his Camp Nou future.
Barca also needed to trim their wage bill and, after loaning out Romelu Lukaku to Inter, Chelsea turned their attention to Aubameyang to add depth and experience to their attacking options.
It has taken a while, with Barcelona’s significant demands and an assault Aubameyang suffered at his home both holding up the deal. But BBC journalist Guillem Balague is reporting that Chelsea have agreed a deal of Marcos Alonso plus £12million for the Gabonese striker.
If the deal is completed before the window slams(!) shut, Aubameyang will be Chelsea’s ninth signing of the summer, joining Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina, Omari Hutchinson and Cesare Casadei.
Chelsea have struggled to successfully sign centre-forwards in recent years, but manager Thomas Tuchel will be hoping that Aubameyang is the man to finally break the Chelsea striker curse.
After the Blues loss to Leeds in lat August, Tuchel said: “I think strikers are a very special breed, they’re very sensitive but also very self-confident.
“Any striker would love to be the guy to break the habit of [Chelsea centre-forwards] struggling. This is what I believe and feel.”
Planet Football have crunched the numbers to assess whether Aubameyang would represent an upgrade on Chelsea’s forward line.
We’ve compared Gabon international’s 2021-22 La Liga stats with Barcelona (note: his time at Arsenal last season is not included) to the corresponding Premier League numbers of Chelsea’s current forwards, with Raheem Sterling and Armando Broja’s stats coming from their times at Manchester City and Southampton respectively.
Goals
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 11
Raheem Sterling – 13
Kai Havertz – 8
Christian Pulisic – 6
Hakim Ziyech – 4
Armando Broja – 6
Assists
Raheem Sterling – 5
Hakim Ziyech – 3
Kai Havertz – 3
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 1
Christian Pulisic – 2
Armando Broja – 0
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang marks his first #ElClasico with a goal! 🔥🔥
He heads in for Barcelona after an outstanding assist from Ousmane Dembele 👏 pic.twitter.com/Hm2Ntwr6e8
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) March 20, 2022
Minutes per goal
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 99.3
Raheem Sterling – 163.6
Kai Havertz – 227.0
Christian Pulisic – 214.3
Hakim Ziyech – 329.3
Armando Broja – 330.2
Minutes per goal or assist
Raheem Sterling – 118.1
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 91
Christian Pulisic – 160.8
Kai Havertz – 165.1
Hakim Ziyech – 188.1
Armando Broja – 330.2
Chances created per 90 minutes
Hakim Ziyech – 2.1
Raheem Sterling – 1.8
Christian Pulisic – 1
Kai Havertz – 1
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 0.7
Armando Broja – 0.5
Successful dribbles per 90 minutes (success rate)
Raheem Sterling – 2.2 (46.7%)
Hakim Ziyech – 1.9 (43.2%)
Christian Pulisic – 1.7 (42.5%)
Kai Havertz – 0.9 (42.9%)
Pierre-Emerick Auabmeyang – 0.3 (60%)
Armando Broja – 1.5 (46.9%)
Passes per 90 minutes (passing accuracy)
Hakim Ziyech – 43.2 (81.2%)
Raheem Sterling – 34.7 (85.3%)
Kai Havertz – 32.4 (81.3%)
Christian Pulisic – 30.6 (80.3%)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 19.2 (75.5%)
Armando Broja – 18 (61.4%)
Shots per 90 minutes (inside the penalty area)
Hakim Ziyech – 3.6 (1.1)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 3.4 (2.6)
Kai Havertz – 2.8 (2.4)
Raheem Sterling – 2.4 (1.4)
Christian Pulisic – 2 (1.5)
Armando Broja – 2 (1.8)
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