Christian Pulisic spent four years at Chelsea before arriving at AC Milan in July 2023.
Milan technical director Geoffrey Moncada has been speaking to MilanLive.it, explaining his side’s decision to sign the forward.
Pulisic was at Borussia Dortmund between 2016 and 2019 and impressed towards the end of his spell in Germany, which attracted interest from Chelsea and other clubs.
The Blues secured an agreement with the Bundesliga side, but the 26-year-old struggled to replicate his BVB form at Stamford Bridge.
He scored 26 goals and registered 19 assists from 145 matches for the Premier League side and Moncada claims the American wasn’t able to show his true potential at the west London club.
The attacker has starred since arriving at the San Siro, managing 15 goals and 11 assists from 50 games last season, and seven goals and five assists from 15 games this season.
MilanNews.it asked the director whether Pulisic is ‘definitely’ one of his best buys and how his deal took shape. When responding to that, Moncada explained why the Serie A side had to act fast to wrap up this deal.
“At Dortmund he was a crazy player, really strong. That’s why Chelsea signed him, he’s someone who can play on the right, on the left, as a number 10, behind the striker,” he said.
“In Germany he had impressive stats, not at Chelsea. We thought it was impossible for a player like that not to perform at a high level in the Premier League.
“When we lost Brahim Diaz this name came up immediately, it was a possibility in that market. Timing does a lot. Maybe two years earlier it would have been impossible. But when there is space to make a player like that you have to take him immediately.”
On Pulisic’s best position, Moncada explained: “Last year as a right winger he had the best season of his life. Today, however, maybe we need him as an attacking midfielder.”