Chelsea's tour of America has been a big deal for most players. It's been the first time for a host first team players to be paraded in front of foreign audiences during the preseason period and it has given them a chance to see new sights as they prepare for the new Premier League season.
It possibly means more to Christian Pulisic though. He is now playing in Chelsea blue in his home country as he looks to front the Todd Boehly American revolution at Stamford Bridge. Pulisic has had a frustrating Chelsea career so far with injuries and patchy form making it a stop-start three years in London.
This summer is a chance for him to start again though. Refresh his mind in his homeland where he is adored and secure a spot in Thomas Tuchel's plans for next season, despite the competition offered to him by Raheem Sterling.
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Pulisic has been in and out of Tuchel's Chelsea team since the German took over in 2021, starting half of the matches he has been in the squad for. Last season he was only able to six league goals but was also shifted between unfamiliar wingback spots, inside no.10 positions and natural winger roles. For a player that relies on periods of form and familiarity to get going, his interchangeability might actually have been a downfall in creating his own options further forward.
With the Blues now open to moving on from their current attackers, Timo Werner has been linked with a departure, Hakim Ziyech likewise and Romelu Lukaku is already out of the door for now, football.london understands that Chelsea didn't see Pulisic as an indispensable member of Tuchel's squad. However, that might now have changed with the Boehly/Clearlake ownership having a chance to cement Pulisic as their main Blues star in America.
Although this is unlikely to have too much impact on Tuchel's long term thinking, it would be a surprise to see Boehly sanction a sale for Pulisic within months of the takeover. Plus, with other Chelsea attackers appearing closer to the exit door, Pulisic's immediate future doesn't seem to be in doubt.
It was thought that the two would be able to spark to life at Stamford Bridge and rekindle a relationship that saw Pulisic make his Bundesliga debut as a 17-year-old. Tuchel was a big fan of his winger at Dortmund, but the now 23-year-old has expressed some difficulties in their relationship as they head into a fifth season working together.
I started as a young 17-year-old kid who just needed to earn a spot in professional soccer, in the sport," said Pulisic in an interview with ESPN. "Being an American over in Germany was very tough for me at the start but he [Tuchel] gave me my opportunity and he clearly saw something in me. I was really grateful for that and then we had some good moments together and also some tougher moments.
"Now being at Chelsea and him coming back, I think he’s grown as a coach and I’ve grown as a player, it’s about trying to find that relationship. We’ve had the good moments and tougher moments, I need to prove myself and that’s what I’m going to do."
Pulisic's father took to social media earlier this year to express his anger at the treatment of his son, but Tuchel has since there are no issues between the pair. Pulisic's response to being asked if he believed Tuchel's previous work with him as a youngster could make the German see him as a kid was jarring though. "It could be," he started.
"You’d have to ask him. That’s not who I am anymore. For sure he knows I’ve grown a lot as a player, there’s no doubt. I have grown a lot so that’s not how I want him to view me. I want him to view me as the player that I am now so I’m going to continue to improve and show him why I deserve to be on the field as much I can.
"I’d say I’ve learnt a lot, regardless of the highs and lows, that’s what makes up most of our careers. I’ve put in a lot of work and I’ve grown a lot as a person and a lot as a player. I’m really happy with the development and now I have another opportunity this season to continue to prove myself."
During the interview Pulisic appeared to be on edge when talking about his current club and became more relaxed when speaking about his national side, an issue that has also clouded his on-pitch action. Pulisic has scored more goals in just 50 matches for the USMNT than he has for Tuchel in 119 games.
This is partly down to the standard of opposition faced when on international duty, but the overriding feeling in Pulisic's career so far is that he has struggled for his club despite being the star for his country. Despite this, the winger is still confident that he is improving: [The player I see in myself is] "A player who has improved in all aspects of his game. For one I’ve got a lot smarter and grown up. Not using the pace and speed like I did when I was 17. I thought I could run forever and sprint by people. Growing up a little bit with injuries and taking care of my body better, using my brain a lot more in different situations throughout a game, becoming a lot more clinical. Being a good teammate clearly."
He will need to be at his very best this preseason to impress and standout against Sterling who has 109 league goals to his name, and even though the two will be competing for similar spots in Tuchel's Chelsea XI, it's a challenge that Pulisic is relishing.
"We have great quality in Raheem, I’m so excited about it because the beautiful thing about being a club like this is the competition every single day. We all thrive competing with each other and getting to play with each other is another great addition to the team.
"It doesn’t change very much because I’m still going to have to play hard and earn my position just like I did before. Nothing crazy has changed. This is Chelsea, this is what you sign up for and this is the kind of club it is with this high calibre of player."
With two more matches to be played in America, Pulisic will still have time to enjoy his summer in America, but with the World Cup in November, and USA being drawn in England's group, he is thinking about his future and the impact that being sidelined for Chelsea could have.
"It’s not just the World Cup, you want to be in a position you’re comfortable with and you want to be in a good position to be in your best position when that time does come because the World Cup is everything, it is for our country, it is for the world."
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