Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was shocked and surprised by Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, having to be reassured by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly.

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Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (L) takes a free-kick as Mason Mount looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group E football match between Dinamo Zagreb and Chelsea at The Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb on September 6, 2022. (Photo by DENIS LOVROVIC/AFP via Getty Images)

On Wednesday morning, Chelsea confirmed they were parting ways with Thomas Tuchel, following their defeat to Dinamo Zagreb the previous evening.

The Telegraph report that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was shocked and surprised by Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, just days after the striker joined the club.

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali made a personal call to Aubameyang to explain the situation and reassure him, knowing that the decision would have a particular impact on the striker – who joined Chelsea partly to work with Tuchel.

After a strong six months with Barcelona, there were already some questions around Aubameyang’s decision to return to England with Chelsea.

It was odd for the striker to return to a league where he’d been struggling, with a club whose system didn’t seem to suit him.

Aubameyang’s chance conversion rate in the Premier League had dropped season-by-season from 32% in 2017/18 to 11% in 2021/22, whilst Chelsea’s problems creating chances centrally were well documented – and likely why Romelu Lukaku struggled.

Barcelona's Gabonese midfielder Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gestures before the start of the friendly football match between FC Barcelona and Manchester City, at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on August 24, 2022. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)
Barcelona’s Gabonese midfielder Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gestures before the start of the friendly football match between FC Barcelona and Manchester City, at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on August 24, 2022. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

The justification many gave was that Aubameyang would be reuniting with Tuchel. The pair spent time together at Borussia Dortmund and it generally went pretty well for both of them.

Instead, Aubameyang will have to hope that new coach Graham Potter sees him as an equally important figure in his plans for the season.