Christian Pulisic points out ‘tough’ situation at Chelsea amidst Barcelona interest
According to NBC Sports, Christian Pulisic has emphasised the difficulties he has had to face playing in an uncomfortable position for Chelsea.
The Blues made Christian Pulisic the most expensive American signing in history in 2019, and the player, to his credit, has shown himself capable of conjuring moments of magic. The 23-year-old star enjoyed an emphatic first season scoring 11 goals and making ten assists in 34 matches across all competitions for the West London team. However, a series of recurring injuries have so far prevented him from excelling regularly.
He has so far made just 19 appearances this season, clocking a measly 1057 minutes of action. Coronavirus and an ankle injury kept him sidelined for several weeks at the beginning of this campaign, further adding to Tuchel’s concerns regarding players available to start up front.
Pulisic returned to the starting lineup after Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner went into isolation. However, he has failed to set the field alight with his performances. Amid such a situation, the former Dortmund forward has been linked with a move to Barcelona.
In a conference call with NBC Sports, Pulisic suggested that playing in an uncomfortable position could be a reason for his inconsistency at Chelsea. While versatility is an excellent trait to have, it does not necessarily mean that competence levels remain the same.
“It is tough. I haven’t always been playing in the positions I want to play in. But I think it is a good quality to be versatile and able to play in all kinds of positions and have different strengths on the pitch. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m ready to hopefully be in a spot over the next few games that I’m more comfortable in,”
Pulisic agreed that his performances have been erratic and often inconsistent in the last year. Hopefully, this admission will spur him on to achieve greater consistency and have a greater impact for Chelsea on the field.
“Obviously, it has been up and down this year, for sure. Not exactly where I want to be and how I want things to be right now.”
The Chelsea midfield under Thomas Tuchel is among the most formidable in European football. The likes of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, among others, have stepped up to the plate often in the last few months. The same cannot be said of the frontline, who, despite the addition of Lukaku, lack bite.
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Curiously enough, Pulisic’s comments on his position might not be an isolated incident. His comments are a throwback to Lukaku’s comments criticising Tuchel’s tactics. It makes sense for the German manager to play his stars in their natural position, but then the cookie also crumbles the other way, and these players will need to adapt to different systems.
To win matches, our team has to score goals, and we can’t rely on our attacking midfielders to net in every game. Therefore, Tuchel has to find the right balance that works best for the team because, at the moment, the likes of Pulisic are far from their best.
