Chelsea’s own Captain America: What’s next for Christian Pulisic?

What next?

There are short-term goals, and there are long-term goals. Pulisic’s short-term goal would be to win his place back into Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI. The American lost his place in his head coach’s favored line-up toward the end of the season. His omission from the playing XI in the Champions League final evidence towards the same. The youngster’s long-term goals, however, must surely lie with his national team. When the World Cup returns to the U.S. in five years, Pulisic will be 26 and very much at his peak.

Hopefully, the attacker will have left his injury troubles far behind by then. Fitness is the main cause for concern with Pulisic at present. Chelsea still hasn’t seen the best of him over a prolonged period, despite paying a small fortune to sign him two years ago. That is a situation in need of correction, whatever form that may take.

Meanwhile, he can—and should—continue to improve his game. Overall advancement is necessary for a young athlete’s game, but perhaps the focus should be diverted towards honing a specific skill-set in the future. Looking at fbref’s scouting report, the 22-year-old has stood out in certain aspects over the last year. He is among the top 15 percent of his positional peers in terms of both progressive carries and progressive passes received, which indicates a proclivity to both carry the ball and receive it high up the pitch. Pulisic is also not afraid to take on and beat players, two more categories in which he fares well. He also draws a fair few fouls per match as a result.

Pulisic is also among the top 15 percent for average shot distance and touches inside the penalty area per ninety, which shows his desire to attack the area. His shot map for the 2020/21 season (via Understat) backs up the numbers, with a lot of his high xG shots coming from good, central positions. Looking at his attributes and a clear picture begins to emerge, that of a goal-scoring winger in the mould of Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min. Clearly, Pulisic is a few levels below those two, but there is every possibility that he turns into as prolific a goal-machine provided the right circumstances.

Chelsea has missed the profile of an attacker who is direct and is constantly involved in goals since the departure of Eden Hazard. The USMNT perhaps has missed that profile since Clint Dempsey retired. Pulisic can be the answer to both teams’ problems. Of course, that puts an excruciating amount of pressure on his shoulders, but the youngster has rarely failed to deliver in the face of a challenge.

What do you think the future holds for Pulisic? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!