Chelsea should not be contemplating a move for Barcelona forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to Paul Merson.

The Sky Sports pundit claims that the former Arsenal captain would only be a stop-gap and he has questioned whether he would be an improvement on Romelu Lukaku:

“I don’t get their interest in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He would be a panic buy. It’s very short-sighted going for a 33-year-old. It’s a quick fix. It’s not a plan to be top of the pile for the next four or five years is it? I don’t think he wins you the Premier League this season either, so it would be just a stop-gap for a year or two. You’re not looking at that as a Chelsea fan thinking: ‘That’s us set for years’ are you? Let’s face it, Romelu Lukaku is a better player than Aubameyang.”

“It’s like Chelsea are coming to the end of the window thinking: ‘Hold on, we haven’t got anybody, who’s left?’ If they really wanted him they could have got him at the start of the window. Or as soon as Robert Lewandowski went there, why didn’t they get him then?”

It’s unlikely that Merson’s warnings will be heeded by the Blues. Manager Thomas Tuchel has once again spoken out to express his admiration for Aubameyang, revealing that the pair struck up a “close bond” during their time together at Borussia Dortmund.

A bid before the end of the transfer window looks inevitable but there are doubts over whether the move will happen. Reports in Spain suggest that Barca could demand as much as €25m (£21m) for the 33-year-old, despite joining the La Liga side on a free transfer just over six months ago.

It is also believed that only one of Aubameyang and Memphis Depay will be allowed to leave this summer and, with the latter said to be in talks with Juventus, Chelsea may find that their attempts to sign the Gabonese international are blocked.