Ruben Loftus-Cheek was enjoying a breakout season at the age of 21, featuring as a full-time starter for the first time in his career while on loan to Crystal Palaceand debuting for England in November, before an ankle injury brought everything to a screeching halt last month. Now, more than a month later, Loftus-Cheek’s ankle hasn’t improved after a period of rest, and surgery has emerged as a very real possibility should no progress be made over the next month. As such, Loftus-Cheek, now 22, has returned to Chelsea for further evaluation by his parent club’s medical team. Palace manager Roy Hodgson, just like the rest of us, is living in total darkness —quotes from the Guardian: “Chelsea insist on having him back there on this period of rehabilitation, so we won’t really know until such time that they release him back to us. The agreement was that he would spend two to three weeks without having a surgical intervention, in the hope that the problem he has will be resol
Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee, understood to be £60m. The Gunners have gradually and significantly improved their offer for Aubameyang, having started at £44m, and the fee eventually agreed eclipses the figure paid to Lyon for Alexandre Lacazette last summer. For a long time, Dortmund tried to have Olivier Giroud included in the deal, but the Frenchman preferred to remain in London and is expected to join Chelsea, who in turn will allow Michy Batshuayi to move to BVB as Aubameyang’s replacement. The length of Aubameyang's Arsenal deal has not been confirmed, with the club saying the Gabon international striker has signed "a long-term contract". Arsenal announced on their official website the transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes and the 28-year-old's squad number will be confirmed soon. A statement from Arsenal confirmed: ‘The 28-year-old has join