QS: Worth over €60m again – regret for Chelsea as Pulisic remains Milan’s talisman | OneFootball

Christian Pulisic continues to be AC Milan’s leader in a difficult season alongside Tijjani Reijnders, and this will soon be rewarded.

Quotidiano Sportivo recall Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s words from a few months ago about Pulisic and his rise: “He keeps a low profile and has his feet firmly on the ground, but he doesn’t have to do that anymore: he’s our Captain America.”

In the meantime, at Milan, a lot has changed: the head coach from Paulo Fonseca to Sergio Conceiçao, the formation from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3, from the Supercoppa Italiana won to the elimination in the Champions League, from ninth place to the objective of the Coppa Italia.

Pulisic remains a guarantee with growing and record numbers. He is one of three players in Serie A to have taken part in at least 50 goals (31 goals and 19 assists) in all competitions since the start of 2023-24, together with Ademola Lookman (50) and Lautaro Martinez (54).

At the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo against Venezia, the American scored his 16th goal of the season (10 in the league): he had never scored so many (last year he had reached 15) and he is currently Milan’s top scorer.

These are centre-forward numbers for the 26-year-old, classified by Lega Serie A as a midfielder. In this sense, we have to go back to 1973 to find two Milan midfielders in double figures in the league: Alberto Bigon and Gianni Rivera. Now, Tijjani Reijnders and the USA captain.

Pulisic is an all-rounder who occupies multiple roles: attacking winger, second striker, mezzala. He covers practically the entire pitch: on Sunday he was the player who ran the most (11.12km), completing 80% of his passes, with four recoveries and three fouls drawn.

Simply put, Pulisic has become a ‘treasure’ for Milan. Chelsea invested €64m in 2019 to snatch him from Borussia Dortmund, the Rossoneri bought him in 2023, spending about one-third. Now, the value of the USA international has returned to that of his early days in London.

Milan know this well, so much so that a contract renewal until 2029 is ready with a salary increase to go from €4m to €5m net per season. It is a fitting reward for Mr. Reliable, in a season of great uncertainties.