Poor Christian Pulisic. The greatest June and July player in Premier League history, and he’s now relegated to being a squad player. Seriously though, what Premier League footballer performed better, during that summer spell known as Project Restart in 2019-20. Hardly anybody, if anyone at all, as Pulisic finally started to live up to the Eden Hazard comparisons.
And while yes, the 22-year-old American has battled his fair share of injuries during his time at Stamford Bridge, he has been as productive and efficient as anybody in Chelsea’s attack when fit.
If Pulisic had the game Sterling did or the misses Havertz had they would be blaming him for the draw as much as Anthony Taylor. #CFC
— USACFC (@USACFC_) August 14, 2022
Go look up the stats, and focus on goals, goal involvements, assists per minute. You’ll see that Pulisic doesn’t deserve to be treated like this- being bench mob for the first two games. In yesterday’s emotional thriller Battle of the Bridge Part 2, he only played a cameo role, coming on in the 85′. And this is after he had a decent preseason, for whatever that is worth.
There are fresh reports today that Newcastle United are interested in signing the Hershey, Pennsylvania native.
The most expensive American player of all-time has been linked with Juventus too. He’s even been advised by a prominent former Juve player to go and join the Italian giants and ruling oligarchs of Serie A. Wherever it is, even if it is a loan deal, Pulisic needs to leave. Last season, manager Thomas Tuchel had him playing out of position at wing back/defender. Now there are reports the German simply doesn’t trust him, and that’s why he’s consistently dropping the 58m GBP man.
Not sure what to believe, because when Tuchel first assumed the position, after Frank Lampard was sacked, he wasn’t playing Pulisic then either.
At the time, the company line was “I know Pulisic already from my Dortmund days, so I know what he brings to the table, let’s see what the other players can offer now.”
Total b.s. and we’ve had enough of this.
I bet that if it was Pulisic’s hair that got pulled, Tuchel would have agreed with the ref that there was no foul.
— Gregg Berhalter’s Burner (@Triple____G) August 15, 2022
It’s a World Cup year, and Capt. America needs to play regular first team football. He is not worse than Kai Havertz. It’s just that the world’s all-time most expensive German player gets more of a pass because he scored that famous UCL winning goal. Havertz has been a bit of a dsappointment under Tuchel. Same goes for Timo Werner (actually he was a major disappointment). Romelu Lukaku was a major flop. Are you seeing the trend here now?
Tuchel is a great defensive coach, but his Chelsea side is where careers of forwards go to die.
Free Christian Pulisic. Now.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.