CHELSEA

Does Christian Pulisic have a future at Chelsea?

Chelsea have to make player sales this summer, with Chilwell, Sterling, Kovacic and Havertz all allowed to leave.

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Chelsea continue to be one of the main players in the transfer market. The London club have invested heavily under new owner Todd Boehly with multiple mega-money signings, but they have struggled to sell players. This will inevitably force the club to make sales this summer, as reported by The Athletic. Chelsea could sell up to 12 players before the start of the 2023-24 season.

A dozen players could end up leaving Stamford Bridge and some major clubs are considering making moves. Manchester City have Ben Chilwell among their targets and are also interested in Mason Mount, who is also wanted by Manchester United and Liverpool.

Pulisic’s future up in the air

Two former LaLiga stars, Mateo Kovacic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also on the list along with US international Christian Pulisic and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Kovacic would be one of the significant sales at Stamford Bridge and would be on the radar of many clubs. This summer may be the time for Pulisic to go and make a name for himself elsewhere after a frustrating time with Chelsea, largely in part to injuries. A fresh start could be exactly what the talented American forward needs. He has previously been linked to other Premier League sides, including Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Club captain César Azpilicueta, who was close to leaving for Barcelona last summer, plus Conor Gallagher and Hakim Ziyech, could also be on their way. Chelsea would reportedly be willing to sell two players who arrived to strengthen the club’s forward line, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling. The latter is struggling to make the impact expected at Stamford Bridge although his agent says that he wants to remain at the club.

More than €600 million in spending

Under Boehly, Chelsea have spent up to €611 million. The serious investment in a large number of players is now forcing these future sales.

Boehly has invested a large part of his funds in transforming a squad to his liking and giving it to Graham Potter, Thomas Tuchel’s replacement with whom he struggled to get on with. This year alone, the American has signed Enzo Fernández (€121m), Fofana (€80m), Mudryk (€70m), Cucurella (€65m), Sterling (€56m), Badiashile (€38m), Koulibaly (€38m), Madueke (€35m), Malo Gusto (€30m), Chukwuemeka (€18m), Andrey Santos (€12m), Aubameyang (€12m), Datro Fofana (€12m) João Félix (on loan for €11m), Slonina (€9m) and Zakaria (on loan for €9m).

The investment is not translating into immediate results either. Chelsea are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but are tenth in the Premier League, five points behind Liverpool, who are in sixth place.

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