Manchester United want to sign Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic on a season-long loan deal as Erik ten Hag urgently chases reinforcements before the transfer window closes.
The United States captain isn’t a first-choice starter at Stamford Bridge and has fallen further down the attacking pecking order at the club after they signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City earlier this summer.
There was plenty of excitement when he first joined the Blues from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of just under £60million in 2019. However, in the three years since, he has only managed to start 50 Premier League matches and has often had to settle for cameos from the bench, as has been the case in both Chelsea ’s Premier League matches so far this term.
United's desperation to bolster their attack looks to of handed Pulisic a potential lifeline though, with a report from The Athletic suggesting he’s now one of their key targets. The player himself is also open to the move too.
If he arrives, it’s more than likely Pulisic takes on a wide attacking role, in place of either Marcus Rashford or Jadon Sancho who have predominantly been occupying the left and right of United’s attack so far under Ten Hag. But how did he compare against both last season? Mirror Football has taken a look.
In terms of playing time, none of the three enjoyed the luxury of being regular fittings in their respective sides' starting XIs. Sancho accumulated the most league minutes (1,900) followed by Pulisic (1,290) and then Rashford (1,235).
It was actually Pulisic who registered the most Premier League goal contributions though with eight (G6, A2), with Rashford and Sancho both finishing the campaign with six. Not only did the American score the most goals, but he also looked to carry the most threat too, registering more shots (1.91) on a per 90 basis than both United stars - Sancho: 1.23, Rashford: 1.61.
Sancho edged the trio in terms of creativity though. Again on a per 90 basis, he registered more key passes (1.94) and a higher Expected Assist (0.20) average than both. Consequently the same boosted his output in terms of shot-creating actions, he finished the campaign with an average of 3.88. For comparison, Pulisic’s average was 2.30 and Rashford’s was 2.11.
United’s No.25 also topped the trio when it came to completing the most successful dribbles and progressive carries.
Despite not hitting the heights many predicted from Sancho in his first season, his underlying creative numbers should comfort United fans that there’s still a lot to come from the England international at Old Trafford.
In contrast though, it’s a different story for Rashford who ranked third out of the three in most of these key attacking metrics. The England international has been an anonymous figure at Old Trafford for the last 18 months, but it was hoped Ten Hag’s arrival could have given the 24-year-old a new lease of life at the club.
Instead though, he’s started the campaign poorly and has even been linked with a move away from the club. Ten Hag might not be ready to give up on the forward just yet, however based on the above, it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll lose his place in the starting XI to Pulisic should he arrive.
While that’ll be a personal blow for Rashford, from a wider United perspective, it could be good news. Sancho’s underlying numbers suggest he can play a big role for the team this season, while Pulisic is almost certainly an upgrade on Rashford based on current form.
