According to reports, Chelsea are now ahead of Liverpool in the race to sign American sensation Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund.
The Blues are reportedly ahead of the Merseyside club in the running due to the fact that they sent Michy Batshuayi to the German club on loan last month. Rather than opting to increase the playing time of Batshuayi when it was clearly evident that Alvaro Morata was struggling in front of goal, Antonio Conte instead sent Belgian on loan and signed Olivier Giroud form Arsenal to provide competition and support to Morata.
In-form Batshuayi likely to stay at Dortmund
Dortmund brought in the 24-year-old Batshuayi as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who ended up joining Arsenal in a permanent deal. It is likely that they will try to sign the striker on permanently, considering that he is on fire for them so far, with five goals from just three matches.
Batshuayi will also likely be happy to stay on with the German club considering that he will likely get more playing time and his current form could win him a place in the Belgium squad which will travel to the 2018 World Cup.
Pulisic one of the best young talents in world football
Pulisic is one of the most promising young talents in world football and despite being only 19 years old, he is already a key player for both the United States national team as well as Dortmund.
The youngster, who was crowned as US Soccer’s male athlete of the year for 2017, currently boasts 11 goals from 84 appearances in all competitions for his club side and it is perhaps just a matter of time before he moves on to one of the most elite clubs in world football.
Chelsea do clearly need to make big purchases during the summer, judging by the way that the team are playing now and Pulisic will be a good investment. Potential suitors will need to take action this summer as Pulisic is a player whose value will only increase going forward.
The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup and that could work in potential suitors’ favour. Had Pulisic impressed in Russia, his value would have further increased. He is also expected by many to go on an overtake the likes of Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey and become the greatest player that the US has produced in the modern generation.
Header image by Reto Stauffer [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
