Transfer News: Chelsea and USMNT winger Christian Pulisic wants to join FC Barcelona
According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Football.London), Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic is optimistic about moving to Barcelona.
Christian Pulisic thrived under Frank Lampard. He was en route to become a massive success at Chelsea since his move from Borussia Dortmund. However, the USMNT attacker has found himself on the receiving end of massive blows from injuries.
Furthermore, his performance drop has become evident. Last season, despite getting numerous chances, he couldn’t flourish under Thomas Tuchel. He has only started two games in the Premier League this season and has seemed out of touch for most of his time on the field.
The drop in performance and recurring injuries has seen him fall down the pecking order under the German manager. Tuchel is currently trusting Callum Hudson-Odoi more, as the Englishman has been starting for the Blues ahead of Pulisic in recent clashes.
The lack of game time has made Pulisic’s life harder at Stamford bridge. The 23-year-old forward has been linked with a move away from Chelsea. It was believed that Barcelona have been keeping a tab on the players’ situation. The recent development suggests that the USMNT forward would ‘welcome’ a move to the Catalan club.
Thomas Tuchel has been very specific with his forward line. The German manager has a number of talented stars at his disposal but not all of them are getting regular playing time.
Recent injuries in our midfield saw us pair Reece James and Ross Barkley in midfield against Zenit- a duo we never saw playing together in that position earlier this season. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also enjoying more time as a result of the fitness issues for veteran Chelsea midfielders.
What this suggests is that the Blues squad, like any other team in the world, isn’t immune from injury issues. Pulisic has to be patient for his chances because there will be times when Tuchel would need his services. It would then be down to him to make those opportunities count.
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Tuchel uses a set-up that sees the full-backs handle a lot of the attacking workload down the wings. In such a formation, it’s hard to see an out-and-out winger like Pulisic play. But regardless of that, he has often played as a sort of an attacking midfielder in a more narrow role, indicating that there is a place for him in Chelsea’s squad.
Since his comeback from injury, he is seeing minutes, albeit them being from the bench. We should wait for a little longer before speculating over his future just because of a lack of playing time.
