Christian Pulisic is not a popular player with Chelsea fans at the moment.
His form has been poor for some time, and not only that, but he appeared to play a role in the departure of Thomas Tuchel from the club.
He looked pretty unhappy on the sidelines a lot of the time, and then released a book which openly complained about the way he wasn’t picked for a Champions League game.
That came out luckily after Tuchel was sacked, but clearly their relationship was pretty broken.
Pulisic played for the USA last night against Saudi Arabia and after the game spoke in positive terms about his future at club level.
“I’m feeling good going back, honestly. I have a fresh start now, and I’m excited to play for the new manager,” he said in quotes picked up by Football.London.
“So really just looking forward to it. I just have to prove myself, as everyone does, and as I’ve done before.”
He says he’s proved himself before, in quite a pointed way, but apart from one good spell, he’s done more proving that he’s not up to it than proving that he is up to it.
It still feels very likely that he leaves, either in January or in the summer, but he will be hoping that Graham Potter takes a sudden liking to him, and his fresh start takes effect.
Not proved himself? Chelsea doesn’t win the semifinal against Real Madrid and go one to beat Man City without his play in both legs. More than most, he’s responsible for their Championship League Win a few years back.