According ESPN’s Raphael Honigstein and his sources, it is “unlikely” that Borussia Dortmund right winger Christian Pulisic will leave the club this summer, especially as they have yet to receive any bids for him. Hard to complete any transfers without an actual bid!
While the Bundesliga’s transfer window closes only on August 31, most of the supposed interest in Pulisic has come from the Premier League, where any buying activities must cease by the close of business on August 9. Given that shortened transfer window and, in Chelsea’s case, the apparent desire from Willian to stay (passport issues aside), it’s perhaps unsurprising that no bids have been made. Then again, BVB only put Pulisic on the proverbial transfer list this past weekend, which doesn’t give much time for any real action.
Pulisic’s contract, as it stands, will still run out in two years. He’s put contract talks on hold, which will decrease BVB’s leverage over him. They set the opening bid at 70m this summer; they may not be able to get more than that in twelve months, when Pulisic will have just one year left on his contract. But that’s their problem, not ours.
Presumably, when this issue comes back around next summer, Pulisic will have continued his development into one of the best young players in the game ... and will have continues to generate interest from top clubs all around Europe. If Chelsea are to have chance, we’ll have to bid strong and early.