A pundit has told Christian Pulisic why he should join Newcastle United in a summer move, rather than swapping Chelsea for Manchester United.
The attacker is free to leave Chelsea, according to reports. Thomas Tuchel has improved his winger options this summer by signing Raheem Sterling, while he also wants to bring in Anthony Gordon from Everton. As per Football Insider, the Blues have come in with a new proposal for him.
Chelsea will let Pulisic go on a temporary basis, most likely a season-long loan. Their one request is that he agrees a new contract before going.
Surprisingly, it is Manchester United who could land the 23-year-old. According to journalist Andy Mitten, they could soon enter talks with Chelsea for his signature. And Pulisic is up for the move, too.
Former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish was recently asked about Pulisic during an interview with Football Insider.
He thinks the American could do with joining a club of Newcastle’s size, rather than Manchester United’s, so he can truly shine.
“He’s not so much a centre-forward, more of a number 10 or he comes in from the wide areas. These are the types of players Newcastle will be looking at,” McLeish said.
“Pulisic has not made the impact you thought he might when [Jurgen] Klopp had him at Dortmund. Klopp really thought he had everything.
Former manager tells Christian Pulisic to consider Newcastle
“He hasn’t made the massive impact with Chelsea, even though when he does come on you think ‘wow. this guy catches the eye’.
“Maybe there is less pressure in going to a club like Newcastle, it might help him.”
Chelsea spent £57.6million when capturing Pulisic from Dortmund in January 2019. He spent the rest of the 2018/19 campaign back on loan with the German club.
Pulisic has shown glimpses of his talent and scored some important goals for Chelsea. However, his time there has been affected by injuries. And he has never managed to impress for an extended period of time.
Changing club could help him to get back to his best. But McLeish is right, Newcastle would be a better fit than United.
Erik ten Hag’s team has come in for plenty of criticism after losing their first two matches of the season. So if Pulisic went there and started poorly, scrutiny from the fans would only lower his confidence.
Instead, he should link up with Newcastle, who are on the up under Eddie Howe. They have brought in several top players this year, including Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes.
Newcastle supporters don’t expect as much as their United counterparts, at the moment anyway. Due to this, Pulisic might be able to play with the shackles off.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have reportedly been given the chance to sign a Paris Saint-Germain player.