Chelsea announced the signing of Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for a fee in the region of £58 million on Wednesday morning and while it is one that has been met by mixed reaction, it should be viewed as a step in the right direction.
The one aspect of the deal that comes as a big surprise is that the USA international has been loaned back to the Bundesliga league leaders for the rest of the campaign when Maurizio Sarri admitted his side need a winger for the remainder of this season. Pulisic hasn’t even been getting much time on the pitch in the last few months at the Signal Iduna Park with the revelation that is Jadon Sancho currently ahead of him in the pecking order.That begs a further question that he is surely of more use to Sarri’s side who have lacked a degree of quality on the wings in recent weeks.
Willian is getting no younger whilst dividing opinion massively amongst the Chelsea fanbase, Pedro is beginning to show signs of his age with a tendency for regular injuries and Eden Hazard is being played more centrally (and may still leave).
All of those signs lead the regular football into thinking it’s a good signing but the Chelsea fans have said otherwise as they are desperate to see Callum Hudson-Odoi given a chance. Similar to the way Ruben Loftus-Cheek looked as though he had been frozen out last season, it seems like the 18-year-old may have to be patient in waiting for his chance, despite a number of good performances in the Europa League this term.
Although, regardless of a lack of minutes for his current club, Pulisic is clearly a player with bags of potential and he is someone that could go on to become one of the best in the world if, and when, he reaches his peak. Being widely tipped as the best talent seen on American shores certainly counts for something as he is the player that will lead them at the international tournaments for the next decade, at least.
It is also a signing that is somewhat financially driven as the board at Stamford Bridge will have identified the importance of getting more coverage from the States. There is currently a lot of interest in Dortmund’s state of affairs from North America and that attention could easily switch to West London from the beginning of the upcoming summer as the 20-year-old finally goes through with the transfer.
The success of the signing on Chelsea’s part will only be able to be judged when the 2019/20 season is underway which is why the criticism from Blues fans seems extremely premature. However, it may come from the frustration of having to wait several months to see their new man in action, especially with the current lack of creativity in the final third.
Only time will tell as to whether Christian Pulisic’s big-money move is justified; unfortunately it will be a long time until he can prove himself.
