Give Me Sport had an exclusive quote from Dean Jones on the subject of Christian Pulisic, who the insider says is preparing to leave Chelsea this summer.
Jones points out that the American winger can’t waste another year on the bench, after one again proving unable to secure a starting spot at Stamford Bridge. There’s also now more competition in those places than ever before.
His quotes on the matter make it all very clear:
“Pulisic’s future has been uncertain for most of the last season and he can’t spend another year kicking his heels on the bench or in the stands at Stamford Bridge. So if he isn’t given clear indications that he can fight for his place and be part of this, then he will definitely look for a transfer.”
It’s just an opinion and not claiming any inside knowledge, but nobody is going to disagree with this take. Pulisic has looked half checked out for more than a year now, and if anything this move is coming too late for him and for Chelsea.
What’s worrying is that we haven’t really heard any concrete rumours about where he might go. Juventus are said to be interested, but there’s certainly not a lot of action in any direction at the moment.
Obviously Pulisic is too young and too talented to accept staying at a club where he has no future, but where do you get off, SuperFrank, saying he’s looked “checked out for more than a year now?” That’s a slanderous load of steaming BS. Utter and complete nonsense and I challenge you to offer any evidence to support such a lazy, prejudiced assertion.
The kid has been desperate to earn a more regular spot and his biggest problem hasn’t been that he’s “checked out,” it’s that he’s “pressing” too hard instead of letting the game come to him. I mean just look at the way he flew into challenge for a header in front goal against De Gea in his penultimate appearance and tell me he was “checked out.” Rubbish! Either you didn’t watch the game or your anti-American bias has left you with selective amnesia, SuperFrank, because the spirit Pulisic showed in that moment (even when angrily confronted by two Utd players) was exactly what you want to see from every Chelsea player, and was, unfortunately, in short supply throughout the rest of the squad for most of the last half of the season. So if you’re going to accuse Pulisic of being checked out then you better be prepared to level charges at the entire squad while you’re at it.
Pulisic has always been one of the better players on Chelsea but his quality of play is driven by his self confidence. When you see players not performing and still given chance after chance, while you get a few minutes here and there and then you are the one castigated by the press, it’s tough to keep your confidence. He was excellent in the world cup, but given no chance when he got back to Chelsea. I’ll make 2 predictions: 1. He’ll turn out to be another de Bruyne or Sula with his new club; 2 Chelsea is more likely to be relegated next year than finish top four. All their leadership has walked or is walking away, and a team made of a high percentage of new players play as individuals not as a team.
I absolutely agree that Pulisic was never given the benefit of the doubt (i.e., the manager’s confidence to play through a dip in form) a la Werner, Havertz or Mount. But, while I think he’ll prove he’s better than Chelsea rated him (if he lands somewhere that he receives the minutes necessary to continue to develop), I don’t think it’s likely he’ll rise to the level of a Salah or DeBruyne. I’d love to be proven wrong about that, but I think his best form places him at the level of a solid starter on a UCL-caliber team.