Chelsea reportedly want either €50 million or midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona in exchange for the services of Christian Pulisic.
According to a report from El Nacional, Chelsea have presented their demands to La Liga heavyweights Barcelona who are looking to secure the signing of USMNT star Christian Pulisic from the Premier League bigwigs.
Pulisic signed for Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund in 2019. The 23-year-old has shown plenty of glimpses of his unbridled potential during his time at Stamford Bridge. But he has been unable to nail down a starting berth, be it under Frank Lampard or current manager Thomas Tuchel, who worked with him at Dortmund.
Injuries have not helped the winger, who, to date, has made 83 appearances for the west London giants, scoring 19 goals and setting up 14 more. The ongoing campaign has been a frustrating one for Pulisic, as he has featured just six times, missing several matches due to fitness issues, which has seen others go past him in the pecking order.
Indeed, the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi are all above Pulisic in the order of preference at Chelsea, as a result of which the Blues are not averse to letting him go for the right offer in January. Barcelona are said to be among the parties interested in taking the 23-year-old off Chelsea’s hands.
Newly-appointed manager Xavi Hernandez is keen on bringing in a new winger to add to his attacking options due to the injury problems plaguing the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati. In addition, the former is yet to renew his contract with the Blaugrana and could be on the move when his deal runs out at the end of the season.
Pulisic, who is also on the radars of Liverpool, has been identified as a viable transfer target for January. Barcelona were hoping to take the 23-year-old forward on loan with an option to sign him permanently at the end of the season. However, Chelsea do not find those terms agreeable. Instead, the Blues have demanded a sum of €50 million for their winger.
With Barcelona in no position to pay such kind of money, Chelsea would be open to alternative arrangements, which would see midfielder Frenkie de Jong move to Stamford Bridge while Pulisic goes the other way. The 24-year-old de Jong has been with Barcelona for over two years but hasn’t been able to showcase his best form yet.
With Ronald Koeman gone and the development of several young midfield options at Barcelona, club president Joan Laporta has been mulling over the possibility of selling him in order to generate funds to reinvest in the squad. Whether they are willing to trade him for Pulisic, however, remains to be seen. An intriguing few weeks lie ahead for the duo.