American superstar Christian Pulisic had been strongly linked with a loan move out of Stamford Bridge this January, but his most recent injury has kiboshed that.
Both Newcastle United and Manchester United were said to be interested in the injury prone forward, at least for a potential loan deal, but manager Graham Potter has ruled that out now that Pulisic will be sidelined for the next couple of months.
Chelsea at Fulham FC FYIs
Kick-off: 8pm GMT, Thur Jan 12, 8pm Craven Cottage
Result Probability: Crystal Palace win 18% Draw 25% Chelsea win 57%
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League Position: Chelsea 10th, 25 pts Crystal Palace 12th, 22 pts
Premier League Form Guide: Chelsea LLDWL, Crystal Palace LWLLW
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Chelsea Team News at Crystal Palace
“No chance (of Pulisic leaving in January), no,” Potter said, following the loss at Fulham and ahead of the match vs Crystal Palace, in response to a question about Pulisic transfer rumors.
“There was never any consideration of anything about that anyway but he’s a couple of months [out]. He’s disappointed [to be injured] but he’s optimistic that he can come back quicker than the two months so he’s in that phase where he’s just trying to keep his fingers crossed and hopefully his rehab goes well.”
Elsewhere Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is said to be unsettled, and perhaps even looking at leaving, despite moving over only this past summer. He was an unused substitute in the loss at Fulham on Thursday night and missed the FA Cup loss to Manchester City due to a back injury.
“He’s here, he had a problem with his back after [the league game against] Manchester City and that’s why he was absent [in the FA Cup game against] City,” Potter said in regard to Auba.
“Today we just went with Kai. He’s in our squad, he’s an important player for us and I’m pretty sure he can help us going forward.”
While he will be available for this London derby on Sunday, having just missed the other London derby last night, the following eight players will not be available:
Edouard Mendy, N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Armando Broja, giving them an even ten currently on the injured list right now.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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