Christian Pulisic: Chelsea forward finding it ‘tough’ playing out of position at Premier League club | Football News

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.”

Analysis: 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.