Christian
Pulisic says he has found life at Chelsea tough because "I haven't always
been playing in the positions I want to play in".
It follows similar comments from Romelu Lukaku to Sky in Italy published in
December, with the striker saying he was "not happy" with his situation at
Chelsea due, in part, to a change in formation by head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Pulisic has played as a winger, striker and wing-back at times under Tuchel,
managing just three goals and one assist in 19 appearances in all
competitions this season.
The 23-year-old, who arrived at Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for £57.6m in
January 2019, is hoping things will improve once he returns from
international duty with the USA next month.
"It's tough," he said. "I haven't always been playing in the positions I
want to play in. But I think it's a good quality to be versatile and be able
to play in all kinds of positions and have different strengths on the pitch.
"So, yeah, I've learned a lot and I think I'm ready to hopefully be in a
spot in the next couple of games that I'm more comfortable in."
Pulisic was part of the Chelsea side that won the Champions League and
salvaged a top-four spot last season after an upturn in results following
the arrival of Tuchel in January.
Chelsea have continued in the same vein in cup competitions this time out,
but their league form has dropped after some inconsistent performances,
which has seen them win just one of their last five matches.
The USA international admits he has struggled to cope with the rigours of
this season, but has been unburdened since returning home to represent his
country for their three World Cup qualifiers.
"Obviously it's been up and down this year, for sure," added Pulisic. "Not
exactly where I want to be and how I want things to be right now. But, yeah,
I'm just going to keep going and, like I said, it doesn't affect me when I
come here so I'm excited to be here.
"When I come to the national team it's, 'How are things at Chelsea? What's
this, what's that?'. And, yeah, things are... it's tough. It's tough. It's
definitely played a lot on me, and mentally it's been difficult at times."
A
nalysis: Why has Pulisic been overlooked?
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds:
Pulisic's frustration is understandable, but it ought to be said that his
history of injuries has contributed to him being in and out of the Chelsea
team.
When it comes to his stats per 90 minutes, however, he ranks as one of
Chelsea's most devastating attacking players.
Only Olivier Giroud, Tammy Abraham, Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi have a better
goals per game ratio since the start of the 2019/20 season than Pulisic
(0.3), while his dribbles per 90 (5.6) ranks him top among his team-mates in
that time.
Similarly, the American is third when it comes to fouls won per 90 minutes
since his arrival (1.73) - with only Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ben Chilwell
being the target of opponents more frequently.
As the graphic above shows, Tuchel has used Pulisic in a variety of
positions this term, partly as a result of there being injuries to key
personnel in other areas. It has led to the forward at times playing more in
the defensive third.
His impressive return of 16 goals in spite of several months on the
sidelines through injury during his two-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge
suggests he should have a bigger part to play in Tuchel's plans - and in his
preferred position.
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