Christian Pulisic will be one of several Chelsea players to come back to Cobham with a point to prove to Graham Potter and Blues fans.
The USA international has seen his stature within the club fall steadily since Thomas Tuchel was appointed and large sections of the fanbase have turned against the 24-year-old following a string of inconsistent, poor-performances and outspoken comments.
Most recently he criticised Tuchel's decision to leave him on the bench in the 2021 Champions League semi-final second-leg against Real Madrid in his upcoming autobiography. To say it went down badly is an understatement.
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On the pitch, Pulisic has failed to make an impact, with a return of just one goal in 12 Premier League games, and has a tough ask to impress Potter for the upcoming run of fixtures in October and November. With such a condensed schedule and the sheer volume of matches being problematic, Pulisic will undoubtedly get gametime. But if he doesn't make the most of it then it may well end his Chelsea career.
The United States Men's National Team (USMNT) star was seemingly courting a move away from the club all summer, with Tuchel happy to oblige amongst interest from Juventus and Newcastle but with no firm bid going in for him. With such an important World Cup around the corner, Pulisic will see himself an instrumental to success on the biggest stage for his nation, but that may have to come off the back off bit part minutes for his club.
Not only has he previously signalled clear intentions to leave, injury troubles that have set back his career continue to take their toll. He has already missed USA's first match of the international break with a knock from training, but that has been overcome as Chelsea's website announced he is set to take on Saudi Arabia in Murcia, Spain, this evening (Tuesday).
Pulisic was named on the bench for Potter's first match in charge and came on in a now familiar attacking wingback role that Tuchel used him in. It isn't his favoured position, but given the trust put into Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling - not to mention Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Armando Broja - Pulisic is on the periphery.
This is what has led to the desire to move. Having signed for £54m in 2019, Pulisic could leave the club for just £31.5m, according to CalcioMercatoWeb. It demonstrates his decline in value to the club along with the ongoing move to shift underperforming players signed under Roman Abramovich that now lays with Todd Boehly.
The other added dimension is that as an American and under new ownership from the States, is there a willingness to allow a commercial superstar to leave? Given Boehly's brutal nature of moving people on so far it appears the business sense for both parties here is to have a transfer completed at the earliest possible opportunity, is still on the table.
For Chelsea it represents a missed opportunity up until now. If Potter can't spark Pulisic then both player and club can look to each other and wish for more. For all of Pulisic's struggles, he is the third current top scorer at the club with 25 goals and his overall record with 19 assists in 123 matches is not as bad as it may seem, especially given his minutes, injuries and managerial changes.
The issue is that for a player with world-class potential 'not bad' is not good enough. If Pulisic is to leave then he would exit the door the same way he came in and with the same issues he has had throughout three years at Stamford Bridge, namely struggling with injuries, inconsistency and missed opportunities.
Nobody wins in this failed experiment.
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