Tuchel backs Aubameyang to prove a point as Chelsea boss considers full debut for striker

Thomas Tuchel declared Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is hungry to prove a point as he weighed up whether to throw Chelsea s new striker in from the start at Dinamo Zagreb.

Aubameyang, who only left Arsenal for Barcelona in January, became one of the final major signings of a busy transfer window at Stamford Bridge, and has made the trip to Croatia for the Blues Champions League opener.

The striker was unable to feature in a 2-1 Premier League win over West Ham on Saturday after suffering a broken jaw when his home was invaded by burglars ahead of his transfer.

But Aubameyang could be set to make his debut while donning a protective mask on Tuesday, and Tuchel believes the 33-year-old is desperate to hit the ground running.

Asked whether Aubameyang was the type of character to thrive in difficult situations, Tuchel said: He is the sort of player. He s very ambitious, he s very focused and hungry to play for us. 

He s hungry to prove a point still, that s why he s here. That s what we felt from the first moment and he s happily invited to prove a point tomorrow.

Pressed on whether Aubameyang could start, he added: If an issue would come up today [on Monday], we will not put him tomorrow, but there was no issue for him [on Sunday] and I hope there will not be an issue.

Is he ready to start? Of course, I think he cannot play 90 minutes so it s on us to take a decision on how we manage the minutes, he needs minutes to get his full fitness and rhythm, it s clear.

So it s on us to find a solution, if he comes from the bench or if he starts.

Touched down in Zagreb!  

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

Aubameyang scored 56 goals in just 63 league games under Tuchel s management at Borussia Dortmund, averaging a goal every 94 minutes of league action under the German.

His new team-mate Mateo Kovacic, meanwhile, believes the Gabon international fills a clear void in the Blues attack. 

I haven t seen him yet in training because he only trained yesterday with the team, so I haven t seen him yet, but he is a great player as we know, he scored goals everywhere, he said.

We re looking forward to having him in our squad and he will be a big addition to Chelsea.

He s a proper striker, a goalscorer, which we missed in the last years. We haven t had that goalscorer that scores 20 or 25 goals per season, which you obviously need to win the title.

So like I said, we re looking forward to having him in our squad, and he will be a big addition, that s for sure. He s a proven goalscorer, for him it s normal to score goals and I hope he will do it here as well.

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