Andy Townsend curious about how Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would react if Graham Potter starts dropping him
Former Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend is curious about how Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would react if he were dropped from the starting line-up by Graham Potter.
The 33-year-old was signed by the west London club this summer on deadline day from Barcelona. Since then, the Gabon international has been in fine form for the club and is a regular under Potter.
However, Townsend does not believe that the striker will remain a regular starter throughout the season. Speaking on talkSPORT (h/t Express), the former midfielder is curious to see how the former Arsenal man will react if Potter decides to rotate his squad.
“What will define Aubameyang for him at Chelsea, as an older player, if he gets left out, I will be very interested to see his reaction. He will get left out. There will come a point where things aren’t going great and Graham might want to shake things up.”
“He might think he needs a little bit more energy up the top line. I think he’s important for them, but I’m intrigued to know how it will go if it goes in the other direction.”
Townsend made these comments after citing how the former Borussia Dortmund player looked devoid of motivation towards the end of his playing days at Arsenal. If that could be repeated at Chelsea is what he may be wondering.
Aubameyang has been in terrific form since joining the Blues. While he was signed by Thomas Tuchel, the striker only had the opportunity to play under him for one game.
But Potter has been reaping the rewards left by the former manager. He has started the Gabon international in three games so far in all competitions, and the 33-year-old has scored in all of them.
The former Barcelona striker remained an unused sub during his side’s 3-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month. Kai Havertz started as the striker, and this was the only game that the Gabonese has missed under Potter so far.
Aubameyang has been in good form and it would not make sense to drop him from the squad. What will happen in the future is not known to anybody. For now, the striker is a regular for the team and is likely to start against Aston Villa this Sunday.
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A goal against the Villans would be another big boost for his confidence. Hopefully, his focus remains on us after claims that he is supposedly already interested in leaving the Blues for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) next year.