Chelsea have made their first foray into the January transfer market with a bid for Borussia Dortmund and USA international winger Christian Pulisic, according to the Evening Standard.

The 20-year-old pacey winger, who joined Dortmund as a 17-year-old back in 2015 as he made the move across the pond for the first time, has gone on to impress in Germany with his pace and directness.

He has just 18 months on his contract and is refusing to discuss fresh terms with the Bundesliga pace-setters.

Due to Pulisic's unsettled status in Germany, the Blues made an offer for the USA international, but were rebuffed due to the offer being well short of the £70 million asking price.

Pulisic made his Dortmund bow in 2016, scoring twice in 12 appearances before becoming a regular in 2016/2017 campaign, going on to make 85 appearances in all competitions over the next two seasons, scoring 10 goals.

This season has seen the winger have to battle it out with a rejuvenated Marco Reus and new England star Jadon Sancho in a battle for a starting spot, but nonetheless, he has featured 14 times this season, netting twice.

Pulisic, at just 20, already has 23 international caps and nine goals to his name and was part of the USA's Copa America squad in 2016.

Chelsea are targeting the versatile winger, who can also play in the hole, in order for Chelsea to have more options in wide areas with just Eden Hazard, who is yet to sign a new contract, Pedro and Willian available to them.

Pedro and Willian are both into their thirties and Pulisic's arrival would inject fresh energy to an ageing forward line that also encompasses the 32-year-old Olivier Giroud.

Despite Chelsea's interest, Pulisic would rather be reunited with former boss Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool than move to west London, whilst Dortmund have targeted Borussia Monchengladbach winger Thorgen Hazard as a potential replacement for the 20-year-old.

However, Chelsea's involvement doesn't end there.

Should they miss out on Pulisic and Dortmund move for Hazard, the brother of Eden, the Blues have first refusal on matching any bid set by Dortmund as part of Thorgen's £5.9 million transfer to Monchengladbach from Stamford Bridge back in 2015.

One thing is clear, Maurizio Sarri is already planning for a January spree.