Chelsea: Hazard, Sarri hold the prerequisites for interest in Christian Pulisic

Proving how much work the Nations League has to do to capture the hearts and minds of football fans, the transfer rumour mill went into high gear to satisfy fans’ attention over the break. Chelsea are somehow leading the race to sign Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund.

Move over, Matt Miazga. There’s to be a new Captain America in west London. The Friday rumour mill went into overdrive (as it tends to do this time of year) with talk that Chelsea are a lock to sign United States international and Borussia Dortmund winger Christian Pulisic. The rumoured fee is in the £50-70 million range.

A confluence of events put Pulisic on the rumour radar, notwithstanding any actual interest from Chelsea. Pulisic’s relationship with Dortmund has also been going downhill in recent weeks. His contract negotiations have not moved at all, and his playing time is well below what anyone would have expected. He has only four starts and seven appearances in the Bundesliga this season. His 379 minutes are well behind Jadon Sancho’s 545, and well behind where he was last season. In 2017/18, Pulisic had the second-most minutes of any Dortmund outfield player.

Chelsea have been linked with a number of wingers for a number of reasons. Willian and Pedro do not have many years left at Chelsea simply given their age. The Blues need quality replacements on the wing to complement and backup Eden Hazard, and to ensure they have a future at the position. Behind the current trio, the Blues do not have any wingers ready to play regularly.

And, of course, Pulisic played at Wembley on Thursday for Wayne Rooney’s farewell friendly between England and the United States. In sight, in mind, as they say.

The threat of a transfer ban for various violations recently (ahem) noticed by FIFA also lends an air of urgency to the rumours, if not the reality around the club. If Chelsea expects to have their transfer windows locked they may exercise some rare foresight and buy several windows worth of players while they still can, potentially as early as January. Pulisic is young enough that he could get Chelsea through a transfer ban without a diminution in quality or performance.

However, his youth is obviously his biggest liability given the current state of things at Chelsea FC. At age 20, he would be by far the youngest player on the first-team. Pulisic has 100 first-team appearances for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, Champions League and Europa League. This puts him far ahead of many Chelsea loanees several years his senior.

At his price, unless Roman Abramovich is developing another remake of Brewster’s Millions, he would have to be a regular player. Maurizio Sarri says he is not interested in the transfer market and will work with the players the club gives him. However, he may not be ready to be handed a £70 million 20-year old with the unambiguous order “You will play him.” It would be an unprecedented situation and demand for Sarri, and could be the first serious strain on his relationship with the board and his players.

Christian Pulisic would be an ideal signing for Chelsea, and that’s not just because I’m part of the American contingent here at The Pride of London. He would represent all the statements of intent, ambition and long-range vision the club often lack in such matters.

But signing Pulisic remains a “nice to do” more than a “must do.” Chelsea should lock down Eden Hazard before they spend too much time strolling through the transfer market. Hazard can attract other players to Chelsea. The Belgian is still the present and future of the club. He can help build the longer-term future of the club, but not if Chelsea do not secure him in the short-term.

The Blues’ house is currently a bit out of order. Not having an owner in the country or a technical director for over a year will do that. As much as they need to move on from a few players, they cannot risk losing anyone truly vital to the success of the club. Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante are currently those players. How Chelsea have allowed their contract situations to linger this long is beyond anybody’s guess.

As nice as it would be to have Christian Pulisic at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea first need to ensure Eden Hazard will still be there with him. Then they need to have a long talk with Maurizio Sarri to make sure he understands what will be expected of him if the club sign a 20-year old for £50 million or more.

He would hardly be the first manager to spar with the club over their transfer business. The twist this time would be the club spending money on a player he doesn’t want, rather than not spending on players he does.