Christian Pulisic has found it really tough to break into the starting line-up under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea and it looks like this same trend is set to continue when the Blues take on Leeds United in the Premier League this weekend.
Pulisic arrived in England with a lot of high hopes but he has not been able to carve out a niche for himself at Chelsea. But early on in this season, things were certainly looking more bright for the American international.
Under Lampard, the player was growing in leaps and bounds but soon as Tuchel took charge, Christian Pulisic immediately fell down the pecking order and now the forward has to be content with only substitute appearances. Some pundits, earlier this week, had claimed that the manager could finally hand the 22-year-old a start on Saturday, since Chelsea have a really important Champions League game coming up, But if Tuchel’s words’ are anything to go by then the American will be a bench warmer vs Leeds as well.
‘When you sign and play for Chelsea, it is part of the job description to be patient and impatient at the same time,’ Tuchel told the press.
‘Impatient because all of my players are competitors, all of them want to play every single minute. This is what they show every day, the hunger and desire, and this is what Christian shows.
‘At the same time, when you are not selected by the coach you have to also be patient and not lose confidence and keep on going to be ready any time, because it can happen any time. In the beginning Christian was a bit unlucky because we knew how much of an impact he can have when he comes from the bench, and we used this power and strength from him.
‘When it was possible for him to start around the Sheffield United and Barnsley games, he was one game unavailable and the cup game it was a bit too soon, it was a difficult game for him.
‘It was not too easy for him but in the end it is the quality from the players that shines on the pitch and it is also the duty of the players to show up and really earn that they play. This is what Christian does, so it can happen at any minute, any game.’
The likes of Mount, Werner and Havertz are successfully keeping Christian Pulisic on the bench and once Tammy Abraham comes back from injury, the 22-year-old might fall further down the pecking order.
There have been rumours of Chelsea looking to sell Pulisic during the summer and if he’s being constantly devoid of game time then we have a feeling that the former Dortmund man might himself hand in a transfer request. And with clubs like Man United, Bayern and Liverpool all interested in him, the winger will not find it hard to secure a transfer.
