Chelsea's £58m player Chelsea have for Liverpool

Liverpool made a bid for Christian Pulisic in 2016 and the USMNT captain could be on his way out again this summer.

18/08/2022, 05:27 PM +00:00

Chelsea are set to emulate Liverpool in terms of handling transfers in this transfer window as Jürgen Klopp's £58m favourite becomes available. He is Christian Pulisic, for whom the Reds made a bid in 2016 and who could leave again this summer.

Since new owner Todd Boehly took over at Stamford Bridge, it is almost impossible to remember everything that has happened, the rumours and so on. Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly have been brought in in what appear to be shrewd moves, but the logic of what seems to come next is a little less easy to understand.

Pulisic, signed for £58m from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019 before being loaned back to Germany for the remainder of that season, wants to make a move away, which Chelsea are said to be open to sanctioning.

More Liverpool news:

Newcastle, Juventus and Atletico Madrid are also interested in Pulisic. Manchester United have joined the race for him, with Chelsea open to letting the USMNT captain go out on loan. Pulisic wants more minutes ahead of the World Cup, with Thomas Tuchel having brought him off the bench in the first two games of the season, and Chelsea have already added Sterling to their starting XI this summer as further competition.

Liverpool

The Athletic report adds that Jürgen Klopp is a "long-time admirer of the American, with whom he worked at Borussia Dortmund". Liverpool made an £11m bid in 2016 when Pulisic was 18, but it is uncertain whether he remains interested. It was more credible at the time - Pulisic and Klopp already had a relationship, and FSG, being American owners, would see the idea of signing North America's best player as beneficial to their brand and that of the Reds, in addition to the on-field benefits the winger would bring.

There are some reasonable arguments for Pulisic being a good fit for Liverpool this summer, too. He can play on either wing and would add depth to an attack, in addition to the injury crisis the team is facing. But if he wants to leave Chelsea for a guaranteed starting berth, it's not going to come at Anfield. With five substitutes available, minutes would be fairly easy to come by, but grabbing a starting spot would be near impossible beyond Darwin Nunez's suspension and Diogo Jota's injury.