As one of Ukraine’s finest footballing exports, Andriy Shevchenko remains a big name and a big deal.
On Monday, he took over at Serie A’s Genoa, his first foray into club management after years at the helm of the Ukrainian national team.
Time spent at AC Milan as a player means that ‘Sheva’ knows all about the Italian league and isn’t going into his new role with limited knowledge of his new surroundings.
However, he does have the biggest of jobs on his hands.
Genoa are only out of the bottom three on goal difference and are just three points off of the foot of the table.
They are also one of only two teams in the division – the other being Cagliari at the bottom – to have won just once in the league all season.
To that end, it seems astonishing that he’d even try to prise a player from another of his former club’s Chelsea, but according to Secolo XIX, cited by The Sun, that’s exactly his intention.
An injury-hit campaign for Christian Pulisic has meant that only now is the American back to full fitness, though he’ll find it incredibly difficult to get back into the Blues starting XI.
That doesn’t mean he has to take the first offer that comes along.
Why on earth would he want to throw himself straight into a relegation battle just because of the offer of regular first-team football?
Shevchenko is a reference in the game for many, and may well be persuasive, however, Pulisic’s purpose would surely be better served battling for his place under Thomas Tuchel.