USMNT star Christian Pulisic has been the target of a potential loan move to Manchester United, according to Andy Mitten, but a report from our partners at Sky in Germany say that the American may not be heading anywhere.
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Per the report, Chelsea have told Pulisic he is unlikely to leave, there is no offer on the table from Manchester United and that no swap deals are going to happen.
A report from The Daily Mail claimed that Chelsea want to sign Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and have asked if Pulisic could be used in a swap deal for the England center back. But it seems like that isn’t going to happen, as Man United are totally focused on signing Antony to bolster their attack. Over the last few days the 23-year-old has also received interest from Newcastle United, according to a report in The Athletic.
Per the Newcastle report, Pulisic is one of several targets Newcastle are looking at to bolster their attack between now and the end of the summer transfer window on Sept. 1. They have asked if he is available on loan, along with the likes of Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The Daily Mail has also issued a report claiming that Newcastle’s interest is real but that the Magpies will have to fend off loan interest from Atletico Madrid and Serie A pair Juventus and AC Milan, all three of whom can offer Champions League football.
Should the American winger move on?
Christian Pulisic has been a substitute for Chelsea’s opening three Premier League games of the season, coming on in the 64th minute of their heavy defeat at Leeds and barely having a kick. That follows reports from the Guardian that Thomas Tuchel ‘doesn’t trust’ Pulisic.
The USMNT star has previously said he is happy to stay at Chelsea and fight for his spot but with Raheem Sterling coming in this summer as Chelsea’s big-money arrival in attack, plus Mason Mount and Kai Havertz ahead of him in the pecking order and maybe even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Anthony Gordon arriving at Stamford Bridge too, it appears Pulisic’s minutes could diminish drastically this season.
It appears that now is the right time for Pulisic to move on, but it seems like Chelsea want to keep him as a good back-up option and he may yet become a starter as the likes of Sterling, Mount and Havertz are hardly ripping it up early in the season. What should he do?
Is Newcastle a good move for the USMNT star?
This move would provide Pulisic with the one thing every player wants: minutes.
Another report from The Telegraph states that Newcastle have enquired about Pulisic, while it is believed their hierarchy were at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday and were keen to discuss potential deals for some of the players on the fringe of Chelsea’s starting lineup.
Newcastle are set up to play with fast wingers on the counter and Eddie Howe’s style of play demands a lot of attention on his wingers. That is good news for Pulisic who has never really fit into Thomas Tuchel’s 3-4-2-1 system at Chelsea which is designed for wide players to cut inside.
Pulisic would battle with Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy and Matt Ritchie for minutes, but he should fancy his chances of starting most games. Ahead of the World Cup in November, Pulisic needs to play more regularly than 10-15 minutes off the bench. That is what he’s probably going to get at Chelsea in the Premier League.
With Newcastle set to push for a top eight finish as a club on the rise under Howe’s stewardship, this wouldn’t be a bad move for Pulisic for a season.
Would Chelsea really loan Pulisic to Manchester United?
Even if Pulisic wants to move to Manchester United and they are keen to do a loan deal, will Chelsea really loan a player to one of their top four rivals?
Stop laughing. Manchester United are still a top six club, even if they aren’t playing like one at the start of this season, so it’s tough to see Chelsea potentially strengthening a rival.
However, if Chelsea actually want to sign Harry Maguire then this swap deal could actually work out for all involved. Erik ten Hag could move on Maguire (a good player but is seriously struggling for confidence at United) smoothly and bring in an attacking talent who can help spark his forward unit into life.
If it does happen, tactically Pulisic would give United pace on the counter but would he suit the possession-based style under Erik ten Hag? Probably not and it seems like he may not be heading away from Stamford Bridge after all.
Chelsea stay set to impact USMNT?
Long-term he will have to figure things out and now it seems like he is going to stay at Chelsea, if he doesn’t get many minutes then the USMNT could be impacted at the World Cup.
There are two ways of looking at this: 1) he will be rested for Qatar or 2) he will be rusty from not playing many minutes.
Pulisic’s injury record suggests he could do with a few months of just playing a bit-part role at Chelsea. He won’t like it and USMNT fans won’t like it, but it could actually benefit Gregg Berhalter’s side in Qatar if he’s fresh and ready to prove his doubters (ahem, Thomas Tuchel) wrong.
The key is now whether or not he wants the move, whether or not Chelsea want to keep him as a good back-up option and whether or not other teams will now try and sneak in given all of this reported interest.
