Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been given the No.9 shirt at Chelsea after joining from Barcelona on deadline day. The 33-year-old, who came for around £12.2 million, is Todd Boehly’s sixth new hire of the summer after Denis Zakaria added one early on Friday morning. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed a two-year contract with west London, and in exchange, Blues defender Marcos Alonso moved to the Camp Nou.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Accepts The ‘Cursed’ Chelsea Shirt
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brief stay at Barcelona comes to an end as he only signed a contract with the Spanish powerhouses in January after leaving Arsenal.
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The 33-year-old has since made 24 appearances for Barcelona across all leagues, scoring 13 goals to help Xavi’s team secure a spot in the Champions League this year. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose move to Stamford Bridge has officially been announced, will don the blue of Chelsea in the competition rather than Barcelona. Since then, he has been given the chance to play in the ‘cursed’ No. 9 shirt as he makes an effort to thrive at the team where many others have failed
Romelu Lukaku, who returned to the team for a second stint last summer, was really the last player to wear that jersey. The Belgian forward, however, struggled while playing for the Blues and managed just eight goals in 26 Premier League games before deciding to return to Inter on loan. When he switched to Chelsea in January 2019, Gonzalo Higuain did not meet expectations either. It was Maurizio Sarri’s ideal acquisition—a striker he knew how to maximize after successfully managing Wayne Rooney at Napoli.
But in England, Higuain who had 91 goals in 146 appearances for Naples three years earlier was a shell of his former self. Prior to going back to Juventus, he scored five goals in 19 games.
Alvaro Morata, who arrived in 2017 for almost £60 million, was replaced by Higuain in the interim. Despite scoring 15 goals in his debut season, the former Real Madrid star had high expectations. Morata even attempted to have his number 29 on his uniform, but things only went worse as he managed just five Premier League goals in his second season.
All of this happened after Radamel Falcao sought to take over the team despite having a terrible season at Manchester United. From Monaco in 2015, he came on loan with the intention of staying permanently. He was only able to play in 12 games and scored just one goal due to fitness issues and the fast speed of the game.
Other players who have struggled to wear the No. 9 jersey for the Blues over the years include Fernando Torres, Franco di Santo, and Chris Sutton. With 18 goals in his first full season at the club before being cut, Tammy Abraham is probably the only player to have made an impression while wearing that jersey.
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