Chelsea report: Juventus in early talks over deal for out-of-favour Christian Pulisic

Juventus are reportedly keeping tabs on Chelsea's Christian Pulisic with a view to signing the winger next summer.

Pulisic has started just once in all competitions so far this season, seeing barely two hours of action altogether.

The United States international was linked with Manchester United and Juve over the summer; Chelsea were said to have offered him to the latter as part of a potential deal for Matthijs de Ligt.

Evidently, no such switch ever materialised, but the Bianconeri appear keen to sign Pulisic.

According to CalcioMercato.com (via Football Italia), Juve have held initial talks with the 24-year-old's agent.

Pulisic – who joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund three years ago – isn't out of contract at Stamford Bridge until June 2024.

The report adds that the Blues wouldn't sell him for any less than £31m (he's currently valued at around £38m by Transfermarkt).

For now, Pulisic will be wanting to get as many minutes under his belt as possible in the run-up to the World Cup 2022 – where he'll be hoping to feature on football's biggest stage for the first time, with the United States having failed to qualify last time around.

That said, he picked up what Chelsea's official website have called "a slight knock" in training before the US' 2-0 friendly loss to Japan in Dusseldorf, Germany last week.

It remains to be seen whether he'll be fit for Tuesday's meeting with Saudi Arabia in Murcia, Spain.

More Chelsea stories

Thomas Tuchel's sacking reportedly hasn't convinced Romelu Lukaku that he has a future at Chelsea. The striker is said to already be keen on extending his loan spell at Inter Milan into next season.

Meanwhile, it's been suggested that the Blues could battle it out with Manchester City for the services of AC Milan forward Rafael Leao. This follows reports that they face competition from Arsenal to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.

Away from the pitch, the club's search for a new sporting director continues after Christoph Freund opted to stay at Red Bull Salzburg. The Blues had looked set to appoint the Austrian as the successor to Maria Granovskaia, who left Stamford Bridge at the end of the summer transfer window.