Manchester United considering loan move for USMNT captain Christian Pulisic

Manchester United are considering taking USMNT captain Christian Pulisic on loan from their Premier League rivals Chelsea, The Athletic can reveal.

Newcastle United, Juventus and Atletico Madrid have all made approaches for the player who cost Chelsea £58million ($70m) when he signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2019.

Pulisic, 23, has been frustrated with his lack of starts under Thomas Tuchel and wants to play more minutes ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this winter.

The winger, who is the most expensive North American footballer of all time, is a vital player for the USMNT and will lead his country in Qatar but has struggled for regular first-team minutes at Stamford Bridge. Hey came off the bench in Chelsea’s opening two Premier League games.

Chelsea know the player is frustrated and are willing to listen to loan offers. The Athletic understands that the player would prefer Manchester United.

Tuchel has already allowed fellow forward Timo Werner to go to RB Leipzig, while Romulu Lukaku has returned on loan to Inter Milan and there is also interest in Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea have bid for Everton’s Anthony Gordon.

Follow our live updates on the potential loan of Christian Pulisic.

Newcastle want Pulisic because they know he can play in three positions across the front three, both wings, as a number 10 or 8, and such versatility appeals to Manchester United, who have spoken about signing Pulisic before he joined Chelsea.

After moving to Stamford Bridge, Pulisic played in and won the Champions League final, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. He scored and was man of the match against Real Madrid away in the 2021 Champions League semi-final. In the first leg, he came on as a substitute and assisted Mason Mount.

He was also man of the match against Porto in the quarter-final – when he drew 11 fouls, the most recorded by a player in a single Champions League game for five years. With both games played in Seville, Chelsea won the first leg 2-0, and lost the second 1-0.

Pulisic also played in three FA Cup finals on the losing side and a Carabao Cup final – seven finals in three seasons.

In his first season at Chelsea after moving from Dortmund at the age of 21, Pulisic scored 11 and had 10 assists in all competitions. United’s Jadon Sancho, who played well in pre-season but has started the season properly poorly, scored five goals and made three assists in his first season after Dortmund. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is a long-time admirer of the American, who he worked with at Dortmund.

Last season was not Pulisic’s best as he missed nine of the ten opening league games with COVID-19 and then an ankle injury, but he got back into Chelsea’s starting XI and has only missed one game to injury since last October.

Pulisic averages a goal contribution every 159 minutes at Chelsea, despite Tuchel occasionally playing him as a wing-back. Mount has a goal contribution of every 192 minutes over the same time frame.

Pulisic has remained an absolutely vital player for his country and was a key figure in helping the USMNT qualify for Qatar. He has already racked up 51 international appearances, scoring 21 goals.

United want to add players to their forward line and are still hoping to sign a number nine, goalkeeper and midfielder before the end of the transfer window.

(Photo: Getty Images)