New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has reportedly made it clear that he will not let nationality bias stand in the way of his Christian Pulisic transfer decision as Liverpool move on from the American to edge closer to the £85million signing of a certain European star.
Much of the Chelsea attack has come under severe criticism this season for their ineffectiveness in not being able to regularly produce the goods for Thomas Tuchel's side in 2021/22 as Man City and Liverpool pulled away. Consequently, despite much of the emphasis still on the Blues' defensive rebuild with a large chunk of the £200m spend to be splashed on replacements for the likes of Antonio Rudiger and co, there is still some expectation that some money will be put aside for attacking reinforcements.
"From what I understand, that £200million would also factor in money from players sales. But to be honest, there's always an element of manoeuvrability in terms of the 'war chest','" Chelsea Chief correspondent for football.london Adam Newson updated in his most recent Q&A segment. "There are a few centre-backs the club have shortlisted as the look to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen – which includes Jose Gimenez, Pau Torres and Presnel Kimpembe – while Borna Sosa is a potential option at left wing-back if Marcos Alonso and Emerson move on.
READ MORE: Christian Pulisic has already given Ousmane Dembele verdict as Chelsea star reaches crossroads
"Everyone at this point knows the club like Declan Rice, although that is looking incredibly difficult to do this summer, and in terms of attackers, Raphinha was being looked at and had Leeds gone down, an approach would almost certainly have been made, but he will now cost a significant price.
"I think the key to potential arrivals in the final third – barring Dembele because of his contract situation – will depend on who from the current attack moves on: the futures of Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku are all up in the air at the moment."
The USMNT star was name-checked as one of the frontmen who could be on his way out this summer to compensate for the likes of Ousmane Dembele to arrive. Liverpool seemed destined to make a move for a player that manager Jurgen Klopp utilised well during their Borussia Dortmund days together.
However, it seems that the Reds' priorities are elsewhere now with their search for Sadio Mane's replacement, with the Senegalese seemingly off to Bayern Munich this summer.
According to our sister title, the Liverpool Echo, the Champions League runner-ups have made an £85m approach for Benfica star Darwin Nunez with some reports in Italy even going as far to claim that personal terms have been agreed already ahead of the Reds' opening 'verbal' offer which will be submitted in the forthcoming days.
What does this mean for Pulisic and the Liverpool links? Well, if Liverpool and Benfica were to agree on a fee for the Uruguayan, then it is expected that they will drop their interest in the Hershey born attacker meaning a Blues stay will appear increasingly likely despite his father's hint that his son is not happy and fulfilling himself under Tuchel's watch.
Regardless of whatever happens with the 25-year-old, it seems as though Boehly has made one thing clear. According to The Athletic, despite assumptions that Pulisic would start becoming the face of the club in helping expand and maximise the American market, the part LA Dodgers owner isn't to let nationality bias get in the way of big transfer decisions that are on the horizon with few days left until the June 10 opening arrives.
Chelsea's number 10 faced off against rival target Nunez in a recent 0-0 draw between USA and Uruguay. If Liverpool were to opt for Nunez, maybe it could be a benefit in disguise for this season's third-placed Premier League side who could then maximise a potential Dembele and Pulisic link up that bared its fruits for the Yellow and Blacks of Germany back in the day.
Chelsea fans - if Liverpool were to drop their interest in Christian Pulisic because of their ambitions to sign Darwin Nunez, what would you do with the American in this situation if you were in Todd Boehly's shoes? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
