Some have questioned whether Chelsea signed Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund purely for footballing reasons.
The Blues secured the signature of the American in January for a fee believed to be in the region of £58 million. After the transfer was complete, the player was loaned back to the Bundesliga leaders and he will arrive at Stamford Bridge next summer.
Pulisic is certainly a quality talent. Despite being just 20 years old, he has played 119 times in all competitions for Dortmund and scored 16 goals so far. He is also currently the face of American soccer and is arguably the best player currently within the US national team. He is expected to overtake the likes of Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan and become arguably the greatest footballer to emerge out of the United States.
In spite of his abilities, Pulisic has not had the best of seasons this term by his standards and this is in part due to English youngster Jadon Sancho usurping him in the pecking order of the German giants. Pulisic has not been a first-team regular for Dortmund this season and has so far only played in the Bundesliga 13 times, scoring one goal.
Some skeptics of the club’s decision to sign the player believe that it was motivated by more than adding quality to the first-team. They believe that he was recruited as a marketing tool in order to attract more business deals from the United States and to grow the club’s support base in the States.
It is certainly very rare for the Blues to sign a player who is not in the best of form, unless as an emergency replacement. There is a good chance that Pulisic was signed for more than footballing reasons. However, at the same time, he does have the potential to develop into a Premier League star. The deal could end up being well-worth it if he manages to successfully adapt to life in West London.
