Barcelona joined the race to sign injury-plagued Chelsea attacker

Barcelona have joined the race to sign Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic

According to Spanish outlet El Nacional (h/t ESPN), La Liga giants, Barcelona has shown interest in signing Chelsea star, Christian Pulisic.

Cristian Pulisic got his breakthrough season at Chelsea under former manager Frank Lampard. In the 2019/20 season, he bagged 11 goals and ten assists in 34 games for the Blues across all competitions. He was termed as one of the promising Chelsea players and possessed the spark to become a star. But injuries have so far ravaged his stay at the Bridge.

His lack of consistency and drop in performance has created concerns in the Chelsea camp. It is believed that the Blues board are seeking to offload the American player. Liverpool have been linked with the forward recently, but it seems Barcelona have also joined the race. 

New manager Xavi Hernandez is looking to strengthen his injury-ridden forward lineup. However, Chelsea’s valuation for the forward could make them rethink their approach.  It is believed that the West Londoners have put a €50 million transfer tag on the USMNT player. 

Despite the change in management, Barcelona are in dire financial straits. Their financial problem remains a huge barrier in their transfer approach. They have largely targeted free agents or taken players on loan in the past transfer window. So, the high valuation from Chelsea could prevent them from making a move. 

Pulisic’s story has been like a see-saw in recent years. He rose to fame rapidly, but injuries cut down his growths. The story has been evident from the last season when he suffered a muscle injury and missed several games. This season a muscle injury obliged him to miss nine games out of the 12 Chelsea have played in the Premier League so far this season. 

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The recent performances of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, and Romelu Lukaku have made it even difficult for him to feature in games. 

Even though his injury record remains a serious problem, he has performed whenever given a chance. This season he has featured in only three games in the English top-flight and has scored in two of them. So, it could be seen that Pulisic hasn’t lost his touch.