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When Christian Pulisic made his move to Premier League club Chelsea FC in 2019, it was considered an historic moment for American soccer.
The London-based team is one of the biggest in England and paid more that $70 million to acquire the young American star.
But Pulisic’s time with the club was up and down.
When he was healthy, he provided a game changing ability with his speed and dribbling. He became the first American male to score in the UEFA Championship League semifinal in 2021, leading his team past Spanish giant Real Madrid.
Pulisic later became the first American to play in a Champions League final when Chelsea defeated fellow English club Manchester City to win the tournament.
But injuries and multiple manager changes saw him fall out of favor in the years to come and he was sold to legendary Italian club AC Milan just last month.
Pulisic did, however, help improve the perception of Americans in the Premier League. US Men’s National Team stars like Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Brenden Aaronson and Weston McKennie (on loan) soon followed.
Though none of those players were at what most consider a top club.
That may soon change.
Adams played well in his debut season for Leeds United in 2022. But the team struggled and was eventually relegated to a lower league.
That triggered a clause in his contract that would allow him to return to a Premier League club for a (relatively) modest fee of just over $25 million.
And with American owners, and a need at his position, Chelsea have reportedly decided to pounce.
After approaching player’s camp last week, Chelsea will open talks over Tyler Adams deal in the next days — informed on his £20m relegation clause 🔵🇺🇸
It remains separated deal from Moisés Caicedo. https://t.co/429Gk20kjY
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2023
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported that Chelsea will begin talks with Leeds over a move in the coming days.
Many Chelsea fans scoffed at the idea.
A good player no doubt but what a useless signing. Justification from many is that he showed promise in the Prem, but you’d do so much better giving 24 starts to Hall and/or Santos in this season. You’re currently trying to convince the former to sign a contract. Just ridiculous. https://t.co/mtkZlwuQqe
— Parth (@CFCParee) August 7, 2023
Feels very much like the Zappacosta/Drinkwater/Emerson expensive backup that we were told these guys were smarter than. https://t.co/YJGv3jrFwY
— Bassman93 (@Bassman_93) August 7, 2023
I blame everyone that complained we were only signings kids. Kids are just the better signing 9/10 times these days. https://t.co/nR4JkRJwyT
— 🍁 (@OlIyCFC) August 7, 2023
But Adams graded out extremely well in the 2022-23 season and fits a position need in the club.
Rumoured Chelsea target Tyler Adams ranks very high for progressive passes and defensive duels won p90. @SawkurGod and Wyscout provide this graph for U24 midfielders in T5 leagues.
The American defensive mid can be purchased for £20m via a release clause. pic.twitter.com/PnhtdSQyvG
— LONDONSFIRST™ (@LondonsFirst_) August 2, 2023
So maybe just give it time to play out before launching complaints?