Thomas Tuchel insists that he has "zero problem" with Christian Pulisic after the Chelsea star's dad called his son's situation at the club "sad."
In a now-deleted tweet which sparked debate among the Blues fanbase, Mark Pulisic wrote following their dire 1-0 defeat to relegation-battling Everton : "The sad thing is [Christian] loves this club, teammates, and London. Puts his heart and soul into being a pro. Onwards and upwards my boy. Big six months ahead," referencing the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Responding to Pulisic senior's feelings ahead of their match at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea manager Tuchel laughed off suggestions that there was a rift between the pair.
"I am not concerned if a father does not say that the player does not love me!" the Blues boss told reporters. "[Is everything okay] with me and the father? Maybe not, I don't know! Like every manager we have our reasons to choose our lineup, we have our reasons to go for players in the first XI and you will never see in this kind of level of competition happy faces from players who are not selected.
"I haven't experienced the same reaction from Christian lately, it was actually the opposite, very strong, very positive in the last weeks. He had a fantastic training week. Between me and Christian there is zero problem."
Pulisic has only made 10 starts in the Premier League this season, having begun to shine towards the back end of last term as Chelsea won the Champions League. Appearing as a substitute in their last three matches, the USA international netted a 90th-minute winner against West Ham to help the Blues consolidate third place.
Have your say! Does Pulisic have a future at Chelsea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Pulisic will now be hoping for a start against Wolves to make his dad happy, having not yet delivered on his £57million price tag that saw him leave Borussia Dortmund three years ago, the club where Tuchel gave him his debut and oversaw his development as a teenager.
The German tactician still has faith in the 23-year-old and added: "So far, he has had a huge impact from the bench in some matches. It has absolutely nothing to do with any tweet or any reaction from agents or fathers or whatever. I didn't even know about it because I don't want my judgement to get affected by it because it has nothing to do with it.
"In the end the players are responsible to be in the team and stay in the team and I will do my very best to make the right judgement. Am I always right? Perhaps not. Is it always fair? For sure not, but this is what you sign up for in a club like Chelsea."
