While things are finally looking much more positive on the pitch at Chelsea, there still remains an ongoing issue for one of its players off it.
Some may suggest otherwise, but it certainly feels as if it's a matter of when and not if Christian Pulisic leaves Chelsea in the not-too-distant future. His time in west London has been overshadowed by a number of injury setbacks and a lack of game time, with the latter remaining a problem for the winger this season.
Pulisic has started just two of the Blues' opening nine Premier League games, coming off the bench six times and not featuring at all against Aston Villa on Sunday. It’s a similar situation in the Champions League for the American, who was on the bench for the entirety of both AC Milan fixtures.
READ MORE: Christian Pulisic could not avoid Chelsea 'circus' as World Cup prompts transfer solution
It's reportedly led to the player becoming unhappy ahead of what is a crucial period for the 24-year-old. It's a difficult situation made even harder with the World Cup just around the corner. The USA captain will be leading his team out in Qatar as they take on England, Wales and Iran, but a lack of minutes running up to November will undoubtedly be on his mind.
As a result, Pulisic has been linked with moves away in recent months with Manchester United, Liverpool, Leeds United and Newcastle all mentioned as potential destinations. USMNT legend Eric Wynalda is also frustrated by the situation Pulisic finds himself in and believes the forward should leave for more opportunities in January.
"He's going to be on the end of a lot of quality if he stays at Chelsea. He's just not going to get the minutes that would equate to big numbers," Wynalda told Vegas Insider. Although it's easy to sit here now and look back with hindsight, perhaps Jurgen Klopp had a point when speaking about Pulisic moving to the Premier League in 2018.
Having known Pulisic from his days at Borussia Dortmund, Klopp was asked about the possibility of the pair being reunited at Liverpool, though the German manager appeared to have doubts over the timing. "I like Christian, I've known him since he was a kid. He's still not really old, he's a fantastic player, and it's deserved that people think highly of him in America," Klopp said.
"In Germany, it's the same. If he wants to play in England or whatever one day then for sure he has the chance to do so but he's at a really good club for his development at this moment. It's really good to be at a club where they know him already. He had not his best season last year but he was still a decisive player but it's important in that age group that there's no rush," he added.
Despite Klopp's clear warning, Pulisic decided to make the big switch to Chelsea just a year later aged 20 in a deal worth a reported £58million.
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