Leeds United can take advantage of Chelsea exodus this summer to sign Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Leeds United could be able to take advantage of an expected exodus at Chelsea this summer to bring in long-term targets Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The Blues currently have a bloated first-team squad with 33 members in the side, and Graham Potter is expected to cut the side down to about 25 players, meaning at least eight will leave.
With owner Todd Boehly having spent over £600m on the squad since taking over the club last summer, they need to sell players with a value in order to help balance the books which could give Leeds a chance to take advantage.
Over the last 12 months we’ve seen USMNT international star Christian Pulisic and England international Ruben Loftus-Cheek linked with moves to Elland Road, and both are considered to be available for transfer according to a report by the Evening Standard (28 March).
However in January the club have since then been able to bring in young French forward Georginio Rutter in a club-record deal for the wide position, while American international Weston McKennie was signed on loan from Juventus for the central midfield.
But McKennie’s future is up in the air, with some reports suggesting that a deal is already agreed to make the loan permanent should they avoid relegation while others suggest the Whites have no intention of prolonging his stay beyond this season.
And while Rutter has struggled to make an impact so far, there are question marks over the future of Wilfried Gnonto while Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison have all been linked with potential exits too.
Should the club avoid relegation and be a Premier League club in the summer there will be money to spend under the new owners, with the 49ers Enterprises expected to takeover the club.
Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek are both very experienced players and would add something to the squad that has previously been absent, and it would be hard to say they wouldn’t improve the team.
Obviously relegation would completely rule out the prospect of a signing, but the club have got decent relationships after dealing with each other for Raphinha last summer before Barcelona swooped to hijack a transfer.
But this is a great opportunity to strengthen the squad with players who are Premier League proven and potentially get a cut-price deal to capitalise on Chelsea’s issues, rather than a big club moving for our better players and weakening us.
In other Leeds news, Victor Orta could be set for a shock departure this summer after his recent interview comments.
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