Graham Potter has warned Chelsea star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that his performance in the Blues’ 1-0 loss to Manchester City on Thursday might be his last.
The ex-Arsenal and Barcelona man came off the bench early in the game after an injury to Raheem Sterling, but was brought off in the second half with Chelsea attempting to get back into the game.
Chelsea star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been warned that his performance in the Blues’ 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on Thursday may be his last under Graham Potter. The ex-Arsenal and Barcelona man came off the bench early in the game after an injury to Raheem Sterling, but was brought off in the second half with Chelsea attempting to get back into the game.
Aubameyang recorded a rare feat of being a substitute that was then brought off the pitch, and ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton believes that he may not get another chance under Potter.
“Aubameyang looked like he didn’t want to be here this evening,” Sutton told the BBC. “He’s not the only one. [Marc] Cucurella, they’ve spent an absolute fortune on him and he looks well, well short for a Chelsea team that want to win trophies.
“I wonder whether Graham Potter is thinking, how can I play Aubameyang again in a Chelsea jersey after how woeful he was. I’m always wary to criticise players for lack of effort or poor body language but Aubameyang absolutely epitomised that.
“I thought he was woeful and hopeless and didn’t give anywhere near enough. He looked disinterested and I suspect Graham Potter will be thinking, blimey, he is never going to play in a Chelsea jersey again under me.”
Chelsea boss Graham Potter substituted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on and off against Manchester City. (Image: Getty)
Aubameyang struggled to get into the game for the 63 minutes he had on the field, before he was replaced by youngster Omari Hutchinson six minutes after the visitors had taken the lead through Riyad Mahrez, as part of a triple substitution that saw Lewis Hall and Conor Gallagher also introduced into the game.
Sutton admitted that he felt sorry for Potter amid growing pressure around his job after a disappointing run, but that Chelsea are underperforming. “It was a difficult pre-season for Chelsea – there were noises coming out of it that Thomas Tuchel wasn’t happy,” he added.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was substituted off by Chelsea boss Graham Potter. (Image: Getty)
“He ended up leaving, and it’s been difficult for Graham Potter coming but this is a Chelsea team that simply aren’t doing well enough. They’ve spent a fortune and you feel for Potter in terms of key players being out tonight – [Mason] Mount, [Ben] Chilwell, [Reece] James, Sterling having to come off early on.”
Aubameyang has struggled for gametime under Potter, having joined when Tuchel was in charge at Stamford Bridge but the Gabon striker made just the sole appearance under his former Borussia Dortmund coach.
The 33-year-old, who spent six months at Barcelona after being ousted by Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, has not started a single game since the World Cup break as Potter has preferred Kai Havertz as his striker.
source: https://metro.co.uk/
