Chelsea ready to pay €20m for the 'next Christian Pulisic'

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Tom Weber | Writer

Chelsea are among the clubs holding a long-standing interest in Borussia Dortmund winger Mathis Albert, who is mulling over his future.

The American wonderkid is regarded as one of the biggest prospects at Dortmund and has been linked to former BVB star Christian Pulisic due to his nationality and precocious talent. Albert made his senior debut in April and was fully integrated into Niko Kovac's squad this summer.

However, things are not going to plan for the 17-year-old. His only first-team appearance this season has come in the DFB-Pokal against fifth-tier HEBC Hamburg. He has yet to feature in the Bundesliga or Champions League.

After playing four games for the United States men's national team during the recent break, Albert now has twice as many senior international caps as club appearances. Unsurprisingly, he is not happy.

He doesn't expect to be a guaranteed starter - he is 17, after all - but he would have hoped for more opportunities after being promised a first-team role this season. Albert was tipped to be one of the Bundesliga's breakout stars in 2026/27.

Dortmund at risk of losing Albert

Sky Germany reports that Albert's frustration over his lack of action could become a problem for Dortmund in future transfer windows. There is certainly no shortage of suitors.

Albert, who is the son of a French father and a German-American mother, could have moved to PSG in the summer of 2025, while Chelsea and Man City expressed a willingness to potentially pay as much as €20 million for him in January this year.

This interest was not formalised and turned into a concrete offer because Dortmund were clear that they did not want to lose Albert so soon after beating off competition from Europe's biggest sides to his signature in 2024.

Undeterred by Dortmund's stance, further enquiries were made this summer, and suitors will now be on red alert ahead of January. However, a Premier League move won't be possible until next summer as he only turns 18 in May.

Obviously, a lot can change in the next few weeks and months, but there are currently not really any signs that Albert will suddenly get regular minutes under Kovac. He simply doesn't suit the 55-year-old's system.

When Dortmund outlined their first-team pathway for Albert in the spring, there was an expectation at the club that Kovac would play with traditional wingers this season. However, this plan was scrapped in the summer.

The club hierarchy and Kovac recognised that implementing a new system would require too many signings. Jamie Gittens wasn't replaced last year, and when Karim Adeyemi was sold, it was evident that three or four wingers would have to be recruited in order to be able to change tactics.

As a result, they instead doubled down on the status quo and also offloaded Julian Duranville and Cole Campbell, essentially leaving Albert as the only out-and-out winger in the first team.

The youngster may have to reinvent himself as a No.10 or improve his defensive work to be able to play as a wing-back. At present, there really isn't an obvious place for him in Dortmund's line-up. This could open the door to a transfer.

Links with Chelsea shouldn't be entirely surprising. Not only did they previously sign Pulisic from Dortmund, but they have already signed two American youth internationals for the future: Benji Flowers and Vicente Garcia.

The Blues have also been credited with an interest in Philadelphia Union striker Malik Jakupovic. The American market is one Chelsea are intimately familiar with, but so too are Man City.

The Cityzens have pre-agreed a deal to sign Cavan Sullivan, the biggest talent in the US pool, when he turns 18, although it is doubtful that they will be able to attract any high-profile talents like Albert amid the uncertainty over the outcome of their legal battle with the Premier League.