Christian Pulisic may be allowed to join Man United on loan but only if he extends Chelsea contract

Chelsea may allow Christian Pulisic to join Manchester United on loan if he agrees to extend his contract first.

Owner Todd Boehly would prefer to sell the USA captain rather than accept United’s request to take him on loan, but is considering that option should Pulisic agree to extend a deal that has two years to run.

Chelsea would protect their asset in the process and hope Pulisic does well at Old Trafford, where he will get more game time and increase his value.

 Chelsea may allow Christian Pulisic to join Manchester United on loan if he extends his deal

Should the 23-year-old stay at Stamford Bridge, he risks spending most of the season on the bench, something he can ill afford with the World Cup approaching.

United have a limited budget and want to use it on a midfielder and striker, while also adding cover at right back and goalkeeper.

Manager Erik ten Hag’s priority has been to bring in a ball-playing No 6, but with Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong looking closer to joining Chelsea, United are now discussing a £50million deal for Real Madrid’s destructive midfielder Casemiro.

Talks are ongoing for the 30-year-old Brazilian, and representatives of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are pushing their claims.

United have also asked about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Barcelona, but he would prefer to join Chelsea.

Todd Boehly would rather sell the USA captain than accede to United’s request to a loan deal

But the Blues owner also recognises that his compatriot needs to play ahead of the World Cup

United ideally want two forwards to cover the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving, amid interest from Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid. 

The 37-year-old took to Instagram this week to hint at an interview where he would reveal ‘the truth’ about his future. ‘They will know the truth when they interview in a couple of weeks,’ he said.

Yet former United defender Gary Neville challenged Ronaldo to come clean now.

‘Why does the greatest player of all-time (in my opinion) have to wait two weeks to tell Manchester United fans the truth?’ Neville said.

‘Stand up now and speak. The club is in crisis and needs leaders to lead. He’s the only one who can grab this by the scruff of the neck!’

In the meantime, United continue to scramble around for signings.

Erik ten Hag’s United side look light in attack and Pulisic is able to cover multiple positions

Chelsea hope that Pulisic would impress while at Old Trafford and increase his market value

Atletico insisted on Wednesday night that they had rejected a huge offer from United for Joao Felix and dismissed an enquiry for Matheus Cunha.

Team-mate Alvaro Morata is still viewed by United as a possible target but they are no longer interested in Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic.

Antony, of Ajax, and Cody Gakpo, of PSV Eindhoven, remain fall-back options. 

United have enquired about Borussia Dortmund right back Thomas Meunier as they consider loaning or selling Aaron Wan-Bissaka back to Crystal Palace.

Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer is also in the frame but the Monchengladbach man wants to push for a No 1 slot and is not prepared to be just cover.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been cautioned by police after admitting knocking a phone out of an Everton fan’s hand after United’s 1-0 loss at Goodison in April.