Christian Pulisic is one of an array of Chelsea stars expected to leave over the summer as Todd Boehly attempts a mass clearout at the club. With under 18 months remaining on his contract and plenty of fresh competition in the squad for attacking places, the American could be used as a form of recouping funds and freeing up space.
Offloading players hasn't been a simple feat over the years for the Blues though with Hakim Ziyech's continued frustration at not getting a move away across the line just one recent example. Pulisic himself was someone who came close to leaving in the summer with AC Milan, Manchester United and Juventus all keen on him.
The 24-year-old's high wages, poor form, lack of game time, injury record and general desire to leave have all made it tough for each party to come to an agreement on a structure though. Ahead of a busy summer at Stamford Bridge Pulisic will likely be amongst those pining for a permanent departure.
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Finding a club capable of matching his wages, ambition on the field and also with a desire to sign him is going to be the big problem. One of the potential moves had been heading back to Germany.
Pulisic made his name in Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund before being picked up by Chelsea and could look to return to the league next. Although his former club are unlikely to match his salary, their rivals may be up for it. Bayern Munich have more money than their competitors and also have holes in the frontline too.
Sadio Mane has not had the season he hoped for and there is the small task of making up for the goals lost in Robert Lewandowski's absence. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been a late bloomer but isn't the long-term answer. Pulisic may well have had a way into the European giants but Thomas Tuchel's recent appointment puts a spanner in the works for that.
The German boss helped to nurture Pulisic at Dortmund before being reunited with the American at SW6 in 2021. There was no such joy in London though and Pulisic struggled to nail down a place in Tuchel's 3-4-3, often being shifted around and even deployed at wing-back for points.
Before that there was already a big deal breaker for the stand-in USMNT skipper. Tuchel's choice to bench Pulisic for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final in 2021 appeared to be a breaking point for the pair. "What happened before that game was hugely disappointing for me," Pulisic wrote in his book 'Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far.'
"I'd had a really good first leg performance and our following match was against Fulham in the league. Tuchel told me that he was resting me for the second leg and as a result I didn't play a single minute in the Fulham game.
"Then on match day of the second semi, Tuchel tells me he's changed his mind and he's going with Kai [Havertz]. I honestly was dumbfounded and very disappointed. I thought that I'd earned a start and, most importantly, he had assured me previously I was going to start."
Pulisic had started, impressed and scored in Madrid, helping the team to a 1-1 draw but had to settle for a place off the bench in the return leg. "So by the time he brought me on with about 25 minutes left, I was just so wound up," the winger added.
"As I take off on the run, I hear Thomas Tuchel yelling from the sideline, 'Christian, stay in the pocket, don't make the run!' he wrote. "But I just had the feeling I'd find the space and get on the end of the pass, so I continued the run." Pulisic did then manage to square the ball for Mason Mount to secure passage to the final in Porto.
Such was Tuchel's criticism though that pass was described as his favourite assist. It may now have closed off a move to Bayern for Pulisic though, with the words he printed coming back to bite him here.
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