Newcastle United

Newcastle United

Premier League • England

Insider reveals Newcastle ‘obsession’ over Chelsea star and explains terms to complete deal

Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic

Newcastle were ‘obsessed’ with Christian Pulisic during the summer window but couldn’t sign him after failing to meet Chelsea’s demands, according to a transfer expert.

Chelsea were willing to let Pulisic leave Stamford Bridge in the summer. Raheem Sterling had arrived from Manchester City on July 13 and due to this the Blues were happy to sell a winger, such as Pulisic.

Chelsea, then managed by Thomas Tuchel, had also seemingly put Pulisic’s team-mate Hakim Ziyech on the transfer market.

Pulisic became a target for several teams, including Newcastle. In a surprise turn of events, Manchester United also set their sights on him. Ziyech, meanwhile, almost went back to former club Ajax.

However, both wide men ended up staying at Chelsea. Newcastle couldn’t get the Blues to sign off on Pulisic’s departure after falling short of their demands. And a switch to Man Utd fell through as well.

Chelsea were in talks with Ajax over Ziyech, but those discussions ultimately came to nothing. His large price tag may have had something to do with it.

Pulisic has made eight appearances for Chelsea this season, with six of those coming in the Premier League. However, he is generally being used as a substitute and is yet to play a full match in either the Prem or Champions League.

Ziyech is in a similar situation. He did manage 90 minutes against Southampton, although he has been kept on the bench for several matches so far.

Romano talks Christian Pulisic to Newcastle

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has now explained why Pulisic didn’t swap Chelsea for Newcastle, despite the Magpies being ‘obsessed’ with him.

“Strong interest from Newcastle [in Pulisic],” he said on the Que Golazo podcast (via Geordie Boot Boys).

“Newcastle were obsessed with Christian. They wanted him on loan, but not on a permanent deal.

“They wanted him on loan, maybe with a buy option, not mandatory. And this is why Chelsea decided to say no.”

Romano has told Newcastle what they must do to sign Pulisic in the future, as long as their interest remains.

Eddie Howe’s side need to put a permanent offer on the table to get Chelsea to consider a transfer. It seems majority owner Todd Boehly will not accept a loan bid for the attacker as he is a valuable asset.

Chelsea spent a reported £57.6million to sign Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019. He spent the final six months of the 2018-19 campaign back on loan at Dortmund before linking up with Chelsea that summer.

Chelsea will have big Pulisic price tag

While Newcastle will have offered to pay all of Pulisic’s wages thanks to their wealthy owners, it is clear Chelsea would want a big transfer fee to let Pulisic go to Tyneside.

Chelsea may struggle to get all of the £57.6m back as the 24-year-old has struggled to get any consistency while in England. However, he is still worth a fair amount – transfermarkt rate him at £37.8m.

Chelsea did offload one forward in the recent transfer window as Timo Werner re-joined RB Leipzig. As per talkSPORT, the Bundesliga side parted with £25m to capture him. Chelsea lost money on Werner as he originally cost them £47.5m in summer 2020.

Clearly, Boehly wants to avoid a repeat of this, which is why he will ask Newcastle to increase their terms if they go after Pulisic again this winter.

Meanwhile, Gabby Agbonlahor thinks a Newcastle transfer target could leave Leeds as they cannot offer him good enough wages.