Despite Todd Boehly’s recent £4.25 billion purchase of Chelsea, officially ending Roman Abramovich’s trophy-laden, two-decade ownership of the west London club and lifting the government-imposed restrictions enforced due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, everything still seems to be a bit up in the air at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Rüdiger has departed for pastures new with Champions League winners Real Madrid and several players could be about to follow the German defender out the door, with the futures of the likes of César Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Romelu Lukaku and Christian Pulisic all increasingly unclear.
Pulisic, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) captain, has been little more than a bit-part player since he joined the Blues from Borussia Dortmund for £58 million back in January 2019. But with just two years left of the five-year contract he put pen-to-paper on and no indication that he wants to extend his stay in London, Chelsea could look to move him on this summer before that deal wears any thinner.
With Pulisic featuring way down Thomas Tuchel’s pecking order — of all the Chelsea attackers only Callum Hudson-Odoi featured in less minutes than the America last season — it might be of the best interests for both parties that he moves on this summer. After all, he’s not exactly making the Blues more favourable in the betting on sports.
And at still only 23 years of age and his true potential yet to be unlocked, there will be plenty of potential suitors ready to knock on the door now the summer transfer window is open. The first of which might be Chelsea’s old rivals Liverpool, with reports that the club that beat them in both the League and FA Cup finals are interested in his signature.
The domestic cup double winners look set to lose a wealth of their attacking options this summer, with Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino and Sadio Mané all seemingly on their way out, and while Fábio Carvalho has already come in from Fulham and a club-record fee due to be splashed on Darwin Núñez, Pulisic would be another decent option.
However, he would likely be faced with the same play time issues at Anfield as he’d be contention for a place in Jürgen Klopp’s XI with around six fellow attackers, and it’s unlikely he’s going to get a starting place over the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Díaz and Núñez — should he arrive from Benfica for a mammoth £85m.
A move back to mainland Europe would perhaps be Pulisic’s best bet of landing regular game, especially with the World Cup coming up in Qatar in November — not that sitting on the bench would ruin his chances of selection as it would many players, but we’re sure he will still want to be fresh and at the peak of his powers as the US have a tricky group.
Barcelona and Juventus are both sides that could be interested in his services. The former are in a state of transition and look set to lose winger Ousmane Dembélé for free this summer, with a move to Chelsea high on the rumour mill. But the Spanish giants might have the financial capability of pulling off the move.
The Old Lady, another side going through the changes since Cristiano Ronaldo left Turin, would definitely have the funds to lure Pulisic to Juventus Stadium and there’s the possibly that he could walk right into Massimiliano Allegri’s starting line-up — especially with Paulo Dybala heading for the exit door.
Things will likely become clearer once Pulisic’s time with the USMNT comes to an end later this month, but with all things considered from both his and the club’s point of view, it seems the 23-year-old’s time at Stamford Bridge is coming to an end.
