Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic has admitted that his lack of playing time is “very frustrating” after yet another game spent on the bench.
Pulisic was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, making it four matches out of his side’s last five that he has failed to see the field.
The U.S. international appears to have fallen behind Pedro, Willian, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi in Chelsea’s depth chart for now, making it a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge.
“Yeah, of course, it is very frustrating, but I will continue to work my hardest because I want to play,” Pulisic told Pro Soccer Talk after Saturday’s game.
Pulisic signed for Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund in January for £58 million ($73m), before spending the second half of last season back on loan with Dortmund.
His Chelsea career began with three starts in the team’s first four Premier League matches, but the 21-year-old’s last league appearance came on August 31 against Sheffield United.
When asked if Chelsea boss Frank Lampard had given him specific reasons why his playing time has dropped off, Pulisic said the advice he’s gotten has been more general.
“Not so much. He said to keep working and I have to improve myself in training and try to get back in the line-up,” Pulisic said.
After spending his entire career in Germany, the American has said that he knew moving to a new league in a new country was always going to be difficult at first.
“There are going to be challenges,” Pulisic said. “I knew it was going to be tough coming here. It is never going to be easy. I’ve got to grind out. I want to be back and be a part of the team and help the team win games.
“I want to play as many minutes as I can, that is really my goal, I want to be on the field.
“It is tough for me right now. I just have to continue to learn. Like I said, I want to be on the field really bad, I have to continue to work and prove myself to be there.”
Pulisic found himself in a similar situation last season, as Jadon Sancho’s emergence at Dortmund cut into his playing time.
When asked if he can learn from that situation, Pulisic said: “Of course. In the end I got minutes again and I played well towards the end of the season, so I just have to get my head down and get to work.”
Goal
