Football transfer roundup: Aubameyang moves on from Chelsea, Payet exits Marseille; Mbappe seemingly on the cusp

Chelsea forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has joined Marseille on a three-year deal, the Ligue 1 club has announced.

“Come on OM… See you in Marseille,” the 34-year-old said in a short video released by his new club on social media.

The Gabon international scored just three goals in 22 appearances for Chelsea after reuniting with former manager Thomas Tuchel in a £10.3m deal from Barcelona.

Aubameyang had a more prolific time at Borussia Dortmund with Tuchel where he scored 79 goals in 95 appearances. It earned him a move to Arsenal in 2018 and finished as joint top-scorer in the Premier League a year later.

But he was sold to Barcelona just weeks later having been stripped of Arsenal captaincy.

Aubameyang scored 13 goals in 23 matches six months in LaLiga, but was unable to reproduce that form during a season-long stay at Stamford Bridge.

HOMECOMING. AUBAMEYANG IS MARSEILLE'S NEW STRIKER 💙🇬🇦 pic.twitter.com/1uEFE23F7q

— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) July 21, 2023

France-born Aubameyang now returns to French football, where he has played for Lille, Monaco and Saint-Etienne in the past.

Payet exits Marseille

326 - Dimitri Payet with Marseille in all comps in the 21st century:

👕 326 games - 🥉
⚽️ 78 goals - 🥉
🎁 88 assists - 🥇

10. pic.twitter.com/08gQlDdEWf

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) July 21, 2023

Former Marseille captain Dimitri Payet has been cleared to leave the club before the final year of his contract, club president Pablo Longoria confirmed.

“We have decided not to continue the adventure together with our captain. It took many weeks of reflection, of discussion,” Longoria told a press conference alongside Payet at the Velodrome stadium.

The 36-year-old, who had been under contract until June 2024, tearfully told journalists he wanted to “continue to play football” after “a very difficult season with little playing time”.

He added he now wished to give himself “time” to decide on his future.

Payet played eight-and-a-half seasons over two spells with Marseille, either side of a two-year stay at West Ham, featuring in 326 matches and scoring 78 goals.

He also played for Ligue 1 sides Lille, Saint-Etienne and Nantes.

Burnley sign winger Nathan Redmond

Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. 🚔 pic.twitter.com/l63SNiTJ4E

— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) July 21, 2023

Newly promoted Premier League club Burnley signed Nathan Redmond on a free transfer after the former Southampton winger left Turkish club Besiktas.

Redmond agreed a two-year contract with Burnley, who have the option of further season’s extension to his deal.

The 29-year-old was a free agent after leaving Besiktas following a single season in Turkey, where he scored six goals in 28 games.

Redmond, who has one England appearance, has played 264 times in the Premier League after spending six years at Southampton and three seasons at Norwich.

Kylian Mbappe dropped from pre-season squad

PSG have dropped Kylian Mbappe from their squad for a pre-season tour of Japan, casting doubts on his future.

PSG gave no reason for his omission.

Mbappe was earlier part of the club’s pre-season preparations and played the last 30 minutes in the club’s training-ground friendly with Le Havre, in which he scored a goal.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports Al Hilal are interested in battling it out with Real Madrid for his signature. But there are strong indications that the France captain would only move to the Spanish capital.

Football gossip and rumours

RB Leipzig sporting director says “there is no agreement” between the club and Manchester City over defender Josko Gvardiol. The 21-year-old has been valued at £86m - a valuation that would make him the most expensive defender in football history. (BBC)

Bayern Munich are interested in Liverpool’s Fabinho if his move to Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia falls apart (Sky Germany)

Bayern are planning a third bid for Spurs and England striker Harry Kane and are confident of signing the 29-year-old (The Times)

Kyle Walker is also reportedly on Bayern Munich’s radar with the defender willing to get into a conversation. (Sky Sports)

Rasmus Hojlund, a top target for Manchester United, has been valued at £86m by Serie A club Atalanta (Mail)

PSG are also interested in the 20-year-old Hojlund and have started discussions (L’Equipe)

Crystal Palace are confident of keeping Wilfried Zaha despite interest from Al-Ettifaq and Lazio (Telegraph)

Manchester City have asked Bernardo Silva to provide an answer on their offer of a £300,000-a-week contract upgrade to fend off reported interest from Barcelona (Mirror)

Brazilian club Gremio are in talks with Alexis Sanchez, who is without a contract, as replacement for Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan Suarez has been linked with a move to Inter Miami in the MLS. Inter Miami have already signed trio of former Barcelona players Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. (Globo)