Chelsea have started 2019 with a bang by announcing the signing of Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for €73m (£58m).

Pulisic, 20, will move to Stamford Bridge in the summer after the two clubs agreed he would spend the rest of the season on loan in Germany.

By securing the American, Chelsea have beaten the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham - who are all long-term admirers.

In a Twitter statement, Pulisic described Chelsea as a "legendary club" and said he's excited to join arguably the world's most competitive league.

He wrote: "In [the] summer I move on to Chelsea and to a new competition, the English Premier League.

"It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world class players."

A few eyebrows have been raised at Chelsea spending £58m on Pulisic, who would have been much cheaper in the summer when his contract at Dortmund went down to 12 months.

But there are several reasons why Maurizio Sarri made his move in January instead, which have been detailed in an interesting report from the Telegraph.

According to Matt Law, Chelsea's reasoning for signing Pulisic now rather than later is three-fold:

• In case they're hit with a transfer ban from FIFA, who are currently investigating some of their previous transfers
• Because Manchester United and Tottenham will both be in much stronger positions in the summer when they get a new manager and stadium respectively
• So that they're not backed into a corner and scrambling for new signings if Eden Hazard decides to leave for Real Madrid

Chelsea's decision to sign Pulisic in the winter transfer window instead of the summer is actually very smart, regardless of whether they've paid over the odds.

They've saved themselves a lot of hassle by getting the deal done early on and let's face it, a player of Pulisic's quality will be worth the money.