Christian Pulisic is set to be a priority sale for Chelsea this summer as attentions continue to turn towards the transfer window. After the Blues ended any lingering doubts over their Premier League status on Saturday against Bournemouth, the best-case scenario is realistically a ninth place finish.
This would be little solace for a dreadful season but it was noticeable once again that Frank Lampard turned away from using his more experienced expensive attacking assets on the south coast. Mateo Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech and Joao Felix were all left on the bench from the start while Pulisic took his place amongst the subs once more too.
The American hasn't featured since starting against Brighton at Stamford Bridge last month and may find it hard to get himself back into contention again this season. With Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke both getting the nod due to their youth and speed, Pulisic has more competition than ever for game-time.
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His most recent goal for the club was in October while his only league assist this season was in the same month, Graham Potter's first game in charge. Ahead of what promises to be a busy window for outgoings at Stamford Bridge, Pulisic's future is one of the top issues to be dealt with.
Speaking to CBS Sports Golazo, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano admits that Pulisic's next step is away from London. "I think yes. I think the answer is yes. At the moment we are not able to confirm any of the rumours from the last few days," he said.
"We have heard Juventus and also Napoli coming from Italy but the reality is that Juventus' team don't know who is going to be the director of the club next season so the project is not clear.
"It is too early to mention concrete targets because Napoli director Cristiano Giuntoli is a target for Juventus. We have to understand what is going to happen in this for directors before Juventus and Napoli, who is going to approach Chelsea for Christian Pulisic."
It comes after it was revealed that both the Italian clubs were keen on taking the 24-year-old when the window opens. Juventus themselves were offered his services last year and even had a swap deal floated too but nothing was agreed. Napoli, however, are a new link. That's far from the end of the interest, though.
"It is also important to mention that there are other clubs interested in Pulisic," Romano added. "Some clubs in England, some clubs in Germany. The player knows it's time for him to go to play some regular football, to be consistent. He needs to feel an important player at a club and this is not happening at Chelsea.
"My expectation is for Chelsea to be prepared to let him go in the summer. They want an important proposal, it's going to be complicated to make a loan deal with a buy-option clause. They will try to find a permanent deal for Pulisic and this is one of the priorities at the club.
"To sell as many players as possible, this this is the priority of Chelsea at the end of May, beginning of June. Let's see what happens in the next few weeks but I think he's going to leave the club."
Chelsea have an extremely early, soft deadline of their own this year with financial accounts meaning that to be registered for the 2022/23 year, deals need to be concluded before the end of June. This adds a new pressure to the mass clearout at SW6 and also something more for Pulisic to consider.
Newcastle and Manchester United are two of the other sides previously linked with a move for the USMNT star. Having paid $69m (£54m) for Pulisic in 2019 the Blues will be keen to get a return on their investment but with just one year left on his deal and a market value of only $34m (£27m) it will be a test of the recruitment team to get a worthwhile price back for their player.
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