
Christian
Pulisic has rejected suggestions he has been brought to Chelsea as a
replacement for Eden Hazard, saying he has arrived at the Blues as his "own
player".
The USA international was signed from Borussia Dortmund for £57.6m in
January but stayed at the German club until the end of the season.
Pulisic has now joined his new Chelsea team-mates for pre-season training,
just weeks after Hazard moved to Real Madrid for a fee that could rise to
£130m.
But despite Hazard's departure - and the fact they play in similar positions
- Pulisic told Sky Sports News: "I'm not here to compare or anything.
"Obviously Eden was amazing and he did so well for this club, as you could
see last season and the whole time he's been here. He was an incredible
player.
"For me, it's coming in as my own player, proving myself and doing the best
I can to help this team.
"Right now it's going in and helping the team whatever way I can. It's just
bringing an intensity into the training first of all and earning respect in
the beginning.
"Then I want to make an impact as much as I can on the pitch."
Pulisic's fellow new arrival at Stamford Bridge is head coach Frank Lampard,
and David Luiz has praised the Blues' all-time top goal-scorer for trying to
bring an intensity to the team's play.
He said: "I think the most important thing is about intensity now in modern
football. Everyone can see the last Champions League final was about two
teams that can play with high intensity.
"Frank loves this club and has the identity of this club. All the staff are
working with love and passion and they want to give us the best things to
perform well inside the pitch."