Chelsea transfer news: Christian Pulisic keen to fight for his place amid Manchester United and Liverpool rumours
The American international has fallen out of favour under Thomas Tuchel but wants to stay at Stamford Bridge
Christian Pulisic is determined to fight for a regular starting spot at Chelsea rather than move to Manchester United or Liverpool this summer.
According to The Express, Pulisic is frustrated about a lack of opportunities so far under Thomas Tuchel, but he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and prove his worth to the new manager.
Since Tuchel was appointed as Frank Lampard’s replacement at the end of January, Pulisic has started just one of the German’s 10 league games in charge.
That sole start came in Saturday’s trip to Leeds United, which ended goalless, leaving Chelsea in fourth spot with nine matches left.
Pulisic was replaced by Reece James after 68 minutes, reinforcing the sense that Tuchel remains unconvinced about the American’s role within the squad.
He enjoyed a great first season in English football, scoring 11 goals in 34 appearances, including the opener in the FA Cup final against Arsenal.
Lampard rated Pulisic highly, playing him for the full 90 minutes in each of his last five league games as manager.
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In contrast, that hasn’t happened once under Tuchel, and Pulisic has twice been left out of the squad entirely, giving the 22-year-old cause to question his future.
Liverpool and Man United have been linked with moves for the versatile Pulisic, who can play on either wing or through the middle, but he is reportedly eager to stay at Chelsea.
The former Borussia Dortmund man joined for a fee of £58million in January 2019 and was loaned back to the Bundesliga club for the remainder of that season.
In just his seventh Premier League outing, Pulisic became the second American in the competition’s history to score a hat-trick, emulating Fulham’s Clint Dempsey.
His treble in a 4-2 win over Burnley was followed by goals in Chelsea’s next two games against Watford and Crystal Palace.
Pulisic missed a couple of months of last season with an abductor injury but returned in fine form after the league’s summer restart.
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