According to a report by The Mirror, Chelsea is ready to pounce Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic. Feeling the pressure of needing to compete with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool is driving The Blues to bring the American to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are in talks with Borussia Dortmund over a potential deal for Christian Pulisic. The American forward is one of world football’s brightest talents after bursting onto the scene in both the Bundesliga and international football.
Liverpool have been long-time admirers of the 19-year-old, who came through the ranks at Dortmund during Kop boss Jurgen Klopp’s reign. But Chelsea are desperate to spice up their squad ahead of the new season and have asked the German club about Pulisic’s availability. Pulisic is expected to be available for £65million.
Aside of Chelsea and Liverpool, both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have been linked to the Hershey, Pennsylvania native. Chelsea, however, is seeking to strike while the iron is hot or at least before the bidding starts to escalate.
Dortmund could be forced into selling Pulisic this summer if they want to get full value for him, with his current deal at Dortmund expiring in 2020. The youngster, who already has 21 caps for the USA, remains in talks with his current club over a new deal, but those discussions are stuttering. Dortmund know that they might have to sell immediately if they are to recoup his full worth.
In May, Pulisic’s father, Mark, downplayed any links to his son’s future with English Premier League clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham in an interview with Sky Sports:
He was linked to Tottenham. Last week it was Liverpool. The week before Man United. The week before this… it’s hogwash. He’s linked with a different club every week. I have no idea. His agent right now is working and looking, in close relation with me and Christian, and we’re just trying to see what the best phase of his next development will be.
Now, however, Mark Pulisic once again spoke to Sky Sports and detailed where he thinks the future may be for his son:
There’s always change. You can think one thing, then you do it, and at the end of the day it wasn’t the right thing. Football is crazy. You have to go with the flow and make sure the player feels comfortable, whatever the decision is. There’s no magic formula. Is it right to stay at Dortmund? Who knows. Is it right to move to another club? He might think it is, or someone else might think it is, but it might not be in the player’s mind.
The only thing we can do is continue to talk with him and make sure he’s always in the loop of what’s going on, present all the facts and the content of what can happen, or will happen. It’s up to the player to make that final call. The Premier League is a league where he’s always aspired to be in and play in. As a player nowadays, there are so few players staying at one club throughout a career, the chances of him moving to different clubs and leagues is a high probability.
With statements like that, it would appear that Pulisic is ready to move on for the Bundesliga or that his father is eager to start a bidding frenzy. Regardless, if Bayern is going to jump into the bidding pool for Pulisic, it might want to avoid checking the temperature and dive right in.