Christian Pulisic is set to leave Chelsea this summer.
The 24 year-old winger has struggled to perform consistently for the Blues since he joined them from Borussia Dortmund for £58million in 2019. Pulisic has, though, won the Champions League with Chelsea and remains a key player for the United States of America national team.
However, with his contract running out at the end of next season the Blues face the prospect of him securing a free transfer away from the club from January. So it is no surprise to read reports claiming that Chelsea could let him go for as little as £20million with incoming head coach Mauricio Pochettino looking to trim a bloated squad.
Here, football.london's writers have their say on Pulisic's future...
Scott Trotter
In many ways the Pulisic decision is already made. Even with the anticipated enthusiasm of Chelsea's new ownership wanting an American star following their takeover, the next 12 months saw the Blues sign Raheem Sterling as a leader of their attack and two young wingers to be Chelsea's future,
The addition of Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke for significant fees shows that the club see the duo as players for now and the future and leave little room for Pulisic to earn playing time outside of truly proving himself upon Mauricio Pochettino's arrival. However, with the US star having hopes of leaving in 2022, perhaps 2023 is time to cut ties for Pulisic to find a new environment to try and reach some of his best form in a system catered more towards him.
He has shown flashes of his quality at Chelsea and looked a world-beater during football's lockdown period. Pulisic's growth at Chelsea has been stunted by injuries and lack of playing time and it's probably time for everyone to move on.
Richard Cusack
Pulisic would benefit from a change of scenery and a move to Europe looks most likely. He could really revitalise his career - bearing in mind he's still only 24 - in somewhere like Italy with Napoli and AC Milan keen.
Indeed, Pulisic has been speaking about how much he loves the Champions League recently and would get to play in European football's premier competition if he moves to one of those two Italian teams. The USMNT ace is already finding it hard to get game-time and with another summer of spending expected from the Blues he will likely fall further behind in the pecking order at the club.
It was damning to see Frank Lampard restrict Pulisic to only 33 minutes of game-time for the final seven matches of the season. If the player wants to develop and fulfil the obvious potential that is there, then a move away could be what is needed.
Josh Holland
Pulisic's time in the Premier League is almost certain to end this summer. The USMNT star has flirted with an exit for the past two transfer windows, but the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino could finally spell the end of his time at Chelsea.
We haven't seen the best of Pulisic, through no fault of his own. The revolving door of managers and attackers at Stamford Bridge has made it difficult for Pulisic to establish himself over the years, but a move to somewhere like Napoli or AC Milan could see him flourish.
It would take a major turnaround of fortunes for the winger to be in Pochettino’s thinking during pre-season. The decision may be taken out of the new head coach's hands, with the club hierarchy keen to sell players with less than two years remaining on their current contracts.
The upcoming transfer window is a perfect opportunity for the club and player to part ways. I'm sure we'll see Pulisic show glimpses of what we expect from him wherever he goes.
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