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It’s no secret that Chelsea’s squad is far too big–even Chelsea defender Thiago Silva said as much after his team’s elimination from the Champions League, lamenting to about Sky Sports how they had to expand the dressing room to make room for everyone.
But as the club faces down a 2023-24 season without Champions League action, it must downsize in order to survive. Missing out on the Champions League means missing out on anywhere from $20M-$120M dollars of revenue, and players must be sold to make up for that deficit.
First on the chopping block? American winger Christian Pulisic.
The 24-year-old arrived at Chelsea in 2019 on the back of several stellar seasons in Germany. He’s largely failed to live up to his potential, though, with frustrating injuries clouding his four seasons in the UK.
Today, however, NBC Sports reports that several Italian clubs are competing to secure Pulisic’s services this summer. Both Napoli (winners of the Italian title in 2023) and Juventus are said to be interested.
Italy could be the perfect place for the American to get back to his best. But crucially, the American could also be perfect for Italy, too.
With English clubs skyrocketing in value, American investors are turning to Italy when purchasing clubs. Both AS Roma and Inter Milan were recently acquired by Americans who believe that Italy’s growth potential and lax regulations mean turning a profit is achievable there.
But where will that profit come from? International markets–specifically, the U.S. Italian league games are now widely available in America for the first time thanks to Paramount+. Clubs are hoping that American fans will fall in love with Italian soccer like they did with the Premier League.
And what better way to convince Americans to tune in than by fielding Captain America himself?
While Pulisic’s Chelsea journey was fraught with frustration, it’s heartening to see new opportunities present themselves for him–especially when they make this much sense.
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