Chelsea were reportedly prevented from selling Christian Pulisic in January due to the winger's knee injury.
Ever since entering the final two years of his contract, the winger has frequently been linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge.
That speculation only increased either side of the World Cup with the USA international being restricted to eight starts and 13 substitute outings for Chelsea during 2022-23.
A strong showing in Qatar gave Chelsea and Pulisic hope of attracting suitors in the January window, only for the player to suffer a knee injury against Manchester City on January 5.
In the days afterwards, it emerged that the 24-year-old would be sidelined for "months", the current expectation being that he will return at some point in March.
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However, when Pulisic does come back into contention, it is felt that he will be playing to put himself in the shop window with both parties open to a sale.
While Pulisic will not want to extend his contract past 2024 when he has recently been pushed further down the pecking order, the club's owners have no intention of risking an exit on a free transfer in just over 16 months time.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Pulisic's departure would have been facilitated in January had he not been sidelined for a significant period.
Speaking to CBS Sports' House of Champions podcast, Romano said: "In my opinion is that at the end of the season they will have to make a decision on Pulisic and I think he has a chance to go.
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"And this is a point also for Pulisic - they have to find the right solutions, right proposal. But, then you need someone to put 35, 40, 45 million [dollars] on the table for Pulisic and it didn't happen at this stage.
"So we have to wait. Also, the injury was not helping because my feeling - from what I understand is that they were prepared to let him go in January before the injury.
"The plan was [Mykhaylo] Mudryk in, Pulisic out and from what I understand then, because of the injury, it didn't happen so now they're trying to protect the player."
AC Milan, Juventus and Newcastle United were among the clubs who were linked with Pulisic at the midway point of the campaign, albeit on loan deals with a potential option to buy.
Darren Plant
