Happy New Year and happy January transfer window. Chelsea FC has gotten the party started by officially unveiling their latest signing, American wonder boy Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund. The USMNT star and face of American soccer will remain with BVB until the end of the season and then join up with the west London side this summer.
The deal is reportedly for $73 million (€64.3, £58m) making him the most expensive player in American history, and by quite a healthy margin too. The previous American transfer fee record was €20m, paid by Wolfsburg for John Brooks in 2017.
Pulisic now joins a small elite group of American players who have plied their trade in the top notch tier of the sport. See graphic:
Welcome to the ?? Premier League club, @cpulisic_10 pic.twitter.com/l542MRzvh0
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 2, 2019
Pulisic has been persistently linked in transfer rumors with England’s big six over the past year. Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked to Pulisic, but Liverpool was the club which gained the most traction in the English tabloids.
Pulisic, 20, who grew up a Manchester United supporter, could eventually surpass Clint Dempsey’s Premier League records for most appearances by an American outfield player (218) and most goals scored by an American (57).
“In summer I move on to Chelsea and to a new competition, the English Premier League,” Pulisic stated via the club.
“It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world class players.”
https://twitter.com/FootbalIStuff/status/1080480263656869894
On the BVB side, take a look at the graphic above. You can see that the Yellow & Blacks are doing the “buy low, sell high” part of the transfer business right.
Said Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia of this deal: “We are delighted to have signed one of Europe’s most sought-after young players. Christian has shown his quality during a fantastic spell in Germany and at just 20, we believe he has the potential to become an important Chelsea player for many years to come.”
“We look forward to welcoming him to Stamford Bridge in the summer and wish him and Dortmund every success for the remainder of the season.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.