Way-Too-Early Transfer Landing Spots for Christian Pulisic

Way-Too-Early Transfer Landing Spots for Christian Pulisic

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When Christian Pulisic walked through the doors at Stamford Bridge to be unveiled as Chelsea’s newest star, it was hard not to dream. Hell, not to dream would’ve been irrationally pessimistic.

Pulisic broke through with Borussia Dortmund and was among the world’s brightest talents. American men’s soccer finally produced a player who could be world-class one day. We finally had our own wunderkind.

Chelsea snapped him up for a transfer fee north of $70 million, far and away the most expensive American player of all time. It was more than triple the second-most opulent fee paid for a USMNT star at the time and remains more than double the current No. 2 (Brenden Aaronson’s $30 million move to Leeds United this summer).

Pulisic’s time at Chelsea didn’t quite live up to expectations, even if it wasn’t a failure as he played a role in the Blues winning a Champions League title. That reads like a bad riddle, but it’s true. The lofty hopes weren’t consistently met, even if the image of him winning a Champions League was a dream.

Injuries, managerial turmoil, general Chelsea instability, playing out of position, or not being played at all left his encouraging debut season (9 goals, 6 assists in the Premier League) as easily his best season in London. In four years, he’ll have never played more than 1,735 minutes in a league season and never more than 420 minutes in a European campaign. He’s started 56 of a potential 138 league matches (40 percent) at the time of writing.

Pulisic’s time at Chelsea increasingly looks to be ending this summer, an impending break palatable for all parties.

The Boy Wonder has been in our collective lives for so long that it’s easy to forget he’s still only 24. His debut with the national team came at the beginning of the infamous failed qualifying cycle for World Cup 2018. He’s just about the only good thing to come from those dark days and was one of just two players from that fateful evening in Trinidad and Tobago to make the 2022 World Cup squad.

Pulisic still has his prime ahead of him. Pulisic is still a star.

If he is to transfer from Chelsea this summer as I (and many others in the know) expect, it’s a crucial move. There will be no shortage of suitors, either. Despite durability concerns and the inconsistent time in England, his talent is still huge.

Where could Pulisic realistically land next?

AC Milan

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First, the soccer quadrant of the equation.

A move to Italian soccer would suit Pulisic well. It’s less physical than the Premier League, perhaps aiding in increased durability. A move to AC Milan, specifically, is my favorite landing spot.

AC Milan won Serie A last year and they have a ton of talent in the first team, but not as much competition to worry about for playing time compared to Chelsea. Rafael Leão has had a star turn in Milan and Pulisic has thrived on either flank in his career. He’d be a first-choice starter.

Milan has most consistently utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation, but they’ll be room for Pulisic even when they shift to three at the back. The Rossoneri have been employing two attacking midfielders underneath a center forward rather than two strikers and a No. 10. He’d fit there, too.

After a three-game losing streak risked swerving their season off the road, Milan has gotten control of the wheel and is a good bet to qualify for the Champions League, another key ingredient to lure a player of Pulisic’s quality (and keep their best players so they remain title challengers in the near future). It’s a huge, storied club.

Now, the financials.

Any deal to acquire Pulisic will hinge on either what percentage of salary Chelsea would cover or how comfortable Pulisic is in taking a pay cut. The truth will likely end up in the middle, where Chelsea chips in a little, but Pulisic makes less at his next club over the course of the contract. He’s currently on anywhere between $8-10 million, depending on what report you put the most stock in. I feel confident with that ballpark, though. Few teams in the world have the financial power of Chelsea.

There has been interest from AC Milan in Pulisic in the past, a source confirmed, but wage fit was a concern. Situations evolve, and maybe it can be revisited.

Borussia Dortmund

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A return to Dortmund would be pretty sensational, wouldn’t it? It’s not just a neat headline, either—Dortmund can offer everything a potential new team would need to be in the Pulisic sweepstakes.

We already know Pulisic can thrive at Dortmund as well as in the Bundesliga. Dortmund is a “big club,” in whatever nebulous definition you break that down with. They offer constant Champions League soccer as well as a probability of being a key player for a team routinely near the top of the table in the Bundesliga. The finances align too.

To my surprise, Pulisic’s current contract wouldn’t even make him among the top five earners at the club, per Capology. They could afford him in their wage bill and a transfer fee won’t be significant (expectation of around $30 million, given his contract expires next summer). Dortmund can afford that.

Pulisic and Gio Reyna together for club and country as a subplot for however long that lasts is palatable, even if they might cut into each other’s playing time.

Leeds or Fulham???

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Just kidding…

*Starts thinking… but what if the USMNT was a club team in England? Where would they finish? …

*Stops writing, fires up Football Manager…

Newcastle

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Finances wouldn’t be a problem at Newcastle.

Newcastle has made a number of smart signings in their new era, but few “splashy” ones forecasted when new ownership arrived. Pulisic could be that marquee addition.

Pulisic also makes a ton of sense in the team under Eddie Howe, who prefers a 4-3-3. Wingers have thrived under Howe as long as they’re willing to work for the team, which Pulisic has exhibited at Dortmund, Chelsea and the national team.

Newcastle did just add English winger Anthony Gordon in January and heavily feature Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton on the flanks, but whatever European competition they’re in next year, they’ll for sure need another quality winger. Consistent starts may be a bit murkier here than other clubs suggested, but there will be plenty of minutes to go around.

The biggest worry would be mid-term outlook of Champions League soccer.

Newcastle has slipped to fifth in the Premier League but has games in hand on the teams ahead of them. Qualifying for the Champions League may not be probable (29 percent probability, according to FiveThirtyEight), but the Europa League is. It’s a nonstarter if the Magpies slip to the UEFA Conference League or out of European soccer altogether.

Even if Newcastle gets into Europe for next year, a concern would be if it can indeed break into England’s top six with an outlook for consistent European soccer or if it’ll be like any number of English teams in recent years that peaked in Europe for a year or two (West Ham and Wolves in recent memory, Everton after the Lukaku days, etc.) then floated back towards mid-table or lower.

The club is intent on breaking into the upper echelon of the Premier League for good, and certainly has the bankroll to sustain it and keep building, but the competitiveness of England makes it difficult to guarantee.

Wild Card: Napoli

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Another option in Italy is Napoli. It may be the least realistic of the options laid out here, but it’s surely within the realm of possibility.

If Napoli transfers wonderkid winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia this summer, the club will be flush with money and a big hole at left wing. That’s the starting point though. If Kvaratskhelia stays, Napoli isn’t in the sweepstakes, but if Napoli acquiesces to a transfer, Pulisic could slot right in. A front three of Pulisic-Victor Osimhen-Chucky Lozano would put up numbers and score high on the watchablity charts (if they can hang onto Osimhen, of course).

The USMNT and Mexican national teams having their biggest profile stars at the same club would be cool, too.

Wages would be a hurdle. According to Capology, Napoli’s highest-earning player is around $6.5 million. It’s within the ballpark, but Pulisic would still easily be the highest earner on his current contract.

Elsewhere in Italy, Inter Milan is a good profile in terms of quality, history, spending power and likelihood of Champions League soccer, but it seems all too likely he’ll get shuttled out to wingback in their 3-5-2. Juventus have been playing more 3-5-2 lately as well, plus they might not qualify for Europe next year thanks to its 15-point deduction.

Pulisic would be a good fit in Spanish soccer as well, but there are no obvious suitors. There have been some odd Real Madrid links, and well… how much would he play? Ditto at Barcelona. Atlético Madrid is anti-football so that’d be no fun, and the rest of the current top six don’t make much sense in terms of finances and stature.