Christian Pulisic turns 21: Why Chelsea winger will need time

The winger will be expecting that the opportunities for youth under Frank Lampard are long to him as 21 turns. Adam Bate assesses the position in conversation of Pulisic .
Christian Pulisic might have expected to be called upon for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Valencia after hanging outside the 5-2 triumph over Wolves of Chelsea on Saturday. The 58m summer stretches from Borussia Dortmund spent before turning 21 sat warming the Stamford Bridge bench in a 1-0 defeat. Happy birthday, Christian.
Given the much-discussed transportation ban of Chelsea, it would have been natural for the pricey addition to this squad to be at the forefront of the dialogue during the early part of the season. But, a beginning has been made by Pulisic to life since being omitted in the beginning line-up for the win in Manchester United.
He did start every one of the next four matches – coming up with a few assists – but it has turned into a beginning. Pulisic is still adjusting. Frank Lampard is all looking for the correct combinations all. The three of Mason Mount and tammy Abraham’s seven goals have ensured that they have been the’new’ players.
Kyle Martino, the former United States worldwide turned NBC pundit, has followed Pulisic’s career closely and doesn’t anticipate that being too much concern due to his compatriot given his reserved nature. Indeed, given that the hullabaloo that has greeted his transfer a little calm might be required.
“Every nation has an unbelievable interest in the way their compatriots are doing,” Martino tells Sky Sports. “This move has more consequences and more at stake than most. There’s a genuine interest here which measures greater on the excitement scale than any playing overseas before. For Christian, I’d envision that’s got to wear on him.”
Martino watched a young man decided to take this chance and had the opportunity to catch up using Pulisic before the beginning of the year. “There was a new-kid-at-school silent about him, getting used to his surroundings. But I also felt a real anxious athlete prepared to get out and perform. He looked confident, calm and prepared to let his play do the talking.
“Remember this is a participant who has played massive games from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in which he has delivered. This really is a really skilled player who had been tossed into World Cup qualifying by Bruce Arena and ended up being among the greatest performers despite having had no experience with the team.”
Nevertheless, the event of the 21st birthday of Pulisic is a reminder that Chelsea have brought at the start of his profession still in a player. He is almost a year younger than Abraham and contains only a few brief months on Mount although he is not a graduate that is youth-team.
As a result, he will need a bit of trust placed in him. Martino is hopeful that Chelsea eventually have a manager keen to do that but is urging people to not expect the impossible. “If success is him replacing Eden Hazard then he isn’t likely to succeed because maybe only a small number of players on earth can actually replace Eden Hazard,” he says.
“However he will bring properties that are similar. He is if you watched him Dortmund. He’s a wonderful finisher at making space for others as well as himself, and he is good with his dribbling. He is cerebral so he reads the game well.
“The physicality of the Premier League will be a learning curve – needing to be somewhat quicker in getting the ball from underneath his toes. He’ll have to be smart with respect to if he takes players. But I the best before and have played Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. He’s the qualities to become an incredible asset to Chelsea in between the lines.”
Pulisic has matched the total of Premier League starts for Chelsea which Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne handled . He’s halfway towards Mohamed Salah’s tally of six and there is not much reason to believe he will not be given the opportunity to overhaul that amount before too long, even despite having to sit out the previous two games.
Things have changed in Chelsea. “There’s a tremendous amount of ability in that squad but ability hasn’t been in a position to blossom because of remarkable short-term expectations,” adds Martino. “If they are good enough they are mature enough but we tend not to figure out whether they are good enough at Chelsea so it’s great to see youth reliable again.
“Players need time however not everybody is awarded it. De Bruyne and Salah did not take some time and after that they went on to show their brilliance. But I believe he will find more time than in the past because of the ban and due to the trust in childhood of Lampard. He will get his chance soon. He won’t require any longer than that… and if he does it is because it’s not working out.”

Read more: