Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Sam Hill

Eden Hazard proven wrong on Chelsea flop as Mauricio Pochettino plots £22m transfer windfall

Chelsea have already let nine players leave the club including Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy. The Blues are set to overhaul their squad ahead of the 2023/24 campaign with Mauricio Pochettino hoping to reinvest money received into new signings.

Havertz left Stamford Bridge to join London rivals Arsenal in a £65million deal. Kovacic joined Premier League champions Manchester City, whilst Loftus-Cheek moved abroad to sign for AC Milan.

Koulibaly and Mendy both made the move to Saudi Arabia - along with N'Golo Kante who left the Blues at the end of his contract. The next player set to leave Chelsea looks like it will be USMNT international Christian Pulisic.

The 24 year-old has struggled to make a consistent mark during his time at Stamford Bridge since signing from Borussia Dortmund for around £58million in 2019. It has not been easy for Pulisic in terms of having to deal with injuries and a revolving cast of managers and team-mates at Stamford Bridge.

AC Milan have made an offer for Pulisic just days after reaching an agreement with the player over personal terms following their deal to sign Loftus-Cheek. The Athletic have reported that a £12million verbal offer has been made for Pulisic, but that still falls below the club's valuation of the player and that interest remains high.

Lyon have also entered the race for the American winger - offering £19million plus a meaningful sell-on fee which is being negotiated. Chelsea have good relations with the Ligue 1 side after signing Malo Gusto in January.

READ NEXT: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Caicedo bid, Mount medical, Milinkovic-Savic offer, Pulisic exit

Pulisic was viewed as a replacement for Eden Hazard, who decided to sign for Real Madrid in a whopping £130million deal in June 2019. At the time, Hazard hailed Chelsea's decision to bring him in to replace the Belgian and insisted he had the potential to become 'one of the best' players in the world.

"He can be one of the best in the future for sure," Hazard told the Associated Press in 2019. "He [Pulisic] can be [a star].

"Now he's at one of the best clubs in the world. He's a proper player. He can play football."

However, it seems Hazard's faith in Pulisic was misplaced with the American struggling to prove himself in the Premier League at Chelsea. The Blues will hope that the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson can have a bigger impact at Stamford Bridge as Pochettino looks to build a squad capable of returning to the Champions League and challenging for trophies.

Who would you keep or sell at Chelsea this summer...?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.