Chelsea Sign Young American Star Christian Pulisic From Dortmund
2nd January 2019
A former national Under-17 captain, in November 2018 he became the youngest player to captain the United States senior side aged 20 years and 63 days
- American international Christian Pulisic, regarded as one of the hottest properties in European football, signed for Premier League side Chelsea for a reported fee of £58 million ($74m) from Borussia Dortmund
- The 20-year-old right winger -- who has had more playing time in the Champions League this term than the Bundesliga as coach Lucien Favre generally prefers England international Jadon Sancho in that position -- has been loaned back to the German league leaders until the end of the season
LONDON, United
Kingdom- American international Christian Pulisic, regarded as one of the
hottest properties in European football, signed for Premier League side Chelsea
for a reported fee of £58 million ($74m) from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old right winger -- who has had more playing
time in the Champions League this term than the Bundesliga as coach Lucien
Favre generally prefers England international Jadon Sancho in that position --
has been loaned back to the German league leaders until the end of the season.
"In the summer I move on to Chelsea and to a new
competition, the English Premier League," Pulisic said in a statement
issued by Chelsea.
"It's a privilege to have signed for such a legendary
club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their
team of world class players."
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said she looked forward
to Pulisic becoming a major influence at the club for years to come.
"We are delighted to have signed one of Europe's most
sought-after young players," she said.
"Christian has shown his quality during a fantastic
spell in Germany and at just 20, we believe he has the potential to become an
important Chelsea player for many years to come."
International debut
Michael Zorc, Dortmund's sport director, said given the size
of the offer the club would have been foolish to turn it down.
"It has always been Christian's big dream to play in
the Premier League," said Zorc.
"That's certainly got to do with his American
background, and therefore we were unable to extend his contract.
"With this background and given the short remaining
period on his contract, we decided to accept the extraordinarily lucrative
offer from FC Chelsea."
Pulisic, who had also been linked with Premier League
leaders Liverpool, has been at Dortmund since he was 15 and aged just 17 made
both his Bundesliga debut and international debut for the United States having
turned down an approach from Crotia to play for them.
A former national Under-17 captain, in November 2018 he became the youngest player to captain the United States senior side aged 20 years and 63 days.