Chelsea’s £54 million acquisition from Borussia Dortmund, Christian Pulisic, went an unused substitute in the Blues 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday. This was the fourth time in the past five that he stayed on the bench, and the one game he did play, was only in League Cup competition against lower tier minnows.
Despite a handful of starts at the beginning of the season, Pulisic still has no goals scored in a Chelsea shirt. Why has the Hershey, Pennsylvania native fallen down the depth chart in west London? He loves the city of London, but he’s having some issues adjusting to life in a new country and playing in a new league.
Naturally, he’s frustrated.
“Yeah, of course, it is very frustrating, but I will continue to work my hardest because I want to play,” Pulisic said.
Worse yet, the $72 million American has said that manager Frank Lampard (who didn’t bring him here, his predecessor Maurizio Sarri did) has not been giving him constructive criticism as to get on the pitch.
“Not so much,” Pulisic said. “He just said keep working, and now I have to prove myself in training and try to get back in the line up.”
There is plenty of depth and talent at all the positions where Pulisic could play, but one guy who won’t likely get in the team over is Mason Mount, who Lampard brought up with him from Derby County. There’s a trust there between player and manager that’s going to give Mount the selection advantage.
While Pulisic says he enjoys being in the capital city, he knows there are massive challenges ahead, and this is a marathon, not a sprint.
“The city is great, I’ve enjoyed it. It has been good but it has been a change,” the 21-year-old continued.
“There are going to be challenges. I knew it was going to be tough coming here. It is never going to be easy. I’ve got to grind it out. I want to be back and be a part of the team and help the team win games.
“I want to play as many minutes as I can, that is really my goal, I want to be on the field… It is tough for me right now. I just have to continue to learn. Like I said, I want to be on the field really bad, I have to continue to work and prove myself to be there.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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