Christian Pulisic 'would welcome' Chelsea exit amid Barcelona interest

Christian Pulisic is reported to be keen to leave Chelsea in January after struggling for minutes, with Barcelona keen to bring him in.

Pulisic was a regular starter for Thomas Tuchel last season but picked up a nasty ankle injury early in the current campaign and is yet to reclaim that spot, with just two of his last eight appearances coming as a starter.

Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi have all been ahead of him in the pecking order in recent weeks, while Romelu Lukaku is a clear starter when healthy, so Pulisic is facing a real battle for minutes.

Barcelona are keeping a close eye on the situation as they look at potential loan targets for the January transfer window, and according to Mundo Deportivo, Pulisic would welcome a switch to Camp Nou.

Manchester City's Ferran Torres remains Xavi's preferred target for the January transfer window but a deal for the Spaniard is complicated by City's reluctance to weaken in attack, so options like Pulisic are being considered.

Barcelona have also registered their interest in Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, both of whom are not guaranteed starters at Chelsea, in the hope they can land at least one of them once the January window opens.

Camp Nou officials have been studying Chelsea in great depth recently and have a number of Blues players on their radar, most notably right-back Cesar Azpilicueta.

The 32-year-old has lost his place at right-back to Reece James and has struggled for minutes centrally following the emergence of Trevoh Chalobah, and with his contract expiring at the end of the season, Barcelona are looking to pounce.

There are also speculative glances coming at another impending free agent, Antonio Rudiger, but there's an acceptance that Barcelona don't have anywhere near the kind of money needed to land the German next summer.

90min understands that Chelsea are resigned to losing Rudiger as talks over his new deal continue to go nowhere, with Real Madrid and PSG the two favourites to land him.


Source : 90min