Christian Pulisic was 'offered' by Chelsea in a startling $108 million trade swap deal.
Chelsea scouting reports: The Blues tried to sell their USMNT star last summer, but their plan fell through.
Last year, Todd Boehly, Chelsea's temporary sporting director, went on a whirlwind tour of Europe, which provided ample documentation of the club's summertime antics. The co-owner went all out in his first transfer window to establish himself and accomplish goals for the team.
It led to one of the hastiest, most haphazard, and thus far most wasteful sets of spending in the club's history—and there is a long list to contend with. Chelsea also splurged on youngsters and young talent in addition to the £250 million spent on the acquisition of Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, and others.
Even Raheem Sterling's two goals against Nottingham Forest couldn't erase the fact that only Fofana of their high-profile acquisitions has come close to succeeding thus far. But there was more to the window than what was visible. Strong ties existed between Jude Bellingham, Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde, and Matthijs de Ligt.
It was a waste of time to try to sign Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, and Presnel Kimpembe. Boehly also at least once had a conversation with Jorge Mendes about Cristiano Ronaldo. For the new owners, there were also a great quantity of other transactions that failed.
Rafael Leao was being courted by one of them to leave AC Milan. The Portuguese winger made a name for himself as one of the most exciting attackers in the world during Milan's Scudetto-winning season in his third season in Serie A. Due to his ten assists and 11 goals, he was linked to lucrative deals to Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid.
One of many teams keeping an eye on him and his 2024-bound deal was the Blues. Due to the uncertainty surrounding his future, there was hope that his £138 million ($172 million) release clause could be lowered. The monetary offer alone was too expensive for Chelsea after everything they had already spent, so they chose another route, according to the Athletic.
Boehly offered Milan Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic as part of a trade to get Leo to London, which wasn't unusual at the time. The club reportedly valued him at £86.5 million ($108 million), negating the release clause, but they wanted to offload their expensive and underperforming assets as well as bring in a new player.
Both Ziyech and Pulisic received interest from other parties and were very close to moving away at various periods, but nothing was settled. As a result of yet another unsuccessful campaign at Stamford Bridge, they now appear destined to leave the organisation this summer. However, there is no longer any sense that a Leao switch would be feasible.
The 23-year-old has opted to stay at San Siro for another year, and his new five-year contract has a £152.4 million ($190 million) release clause. That will deter potential suitors and prevent any quick agreements. It also raises a fresh query about Pulisic and Ziyech's prospects.
Leao was reportedly considered by Chelsea as a potential striker option for the team, giving insight into the areas they thought needed improvement overall. Though Leao is unlikely to be that player, the same may still be stated if a centre forward is still at the top of their summer list.
