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Thomas Tuchel has asked Chelsea to ‘intensify negotiations’ with Barcelona for Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and reach an agreement ‘within hours’.

That’s according to Sport, who says the German has called for a ‘last-ditch effort’ to close the deal for the striker.

He expects Chelsea to sign the player this weekend as he wants a proper striker in his squad after starting the season without one.

Aubameyang has already reached an ‘agreement in principle’ with Chelsea on a deal for three seasons but there is still no deal in place between the clubs despite the Blues raising their offer to €20m.

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Barcelona are in no hurry, regardless of the fact they need the money to officially register Jules Koundé, as they don’t want to agree to a bad deal given Chelsea’s ‘urgency’ to sign him.

They know that there are no strikers on the market and feel it is a good opportunity to get an excellent price given Aubameyang’s record in the Premier League.

The two clubs will be in contact again today in the hope of agreeing a deal and sources at the Camp Nou have told Sport that Aubameyang’s departure ‘will be finalised’ at some point.

Their belief is that everything ‘will come to fruition’ in the last few days of the market but Tuchel needs him now and it remains to be seen if Chelsea ‘will push hard enough’ to sign the striker sooner.