The curious case of Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic

New arrivals further clog the path

It hasn’t only been injuries that have disrupted the American’s return to the Chelsea starting XI. The subsequent arrival of Kai Havertz posed the first problem as Lampard often deployed Havertz and Mason Mount in the advanced attacking roles. Timo Werner’s arrival also did not help Pulisic’s situation as he was deployed up front atop the dual No. 8s in Havertz and Mount. As Werner continued to miss the mark in front of goal, Lampard—and Tuchel as he continued his predecessor’s actions—started deploying Werner on the left flank, the position Pulisic found himself playing more and more due to there being little room on the right.

Hakim Ziyech, a natural right winger, presented another level of competition in the American’s favoured right wing. Even when the Moroccan went down with injuries, Pulisic himself was on the sidelines and couldn’t take advantage of the hit to his direct competition. Tuchel turned to Callum Hudson-Odoi and more frequently, Mount, to play that wide right role. The former of the two also frequents Pulisic’s favored left wing when he’s fit.

When Pulisic has returned to the line-up, Tuchel has used him as a wingback in recent months. While it’s certainly good to get back on the pitch, it’s far from the attacking role the No.10 likely craves. He’s just significantly better than Hudson-Odoi in that position and the unfortunate reality of Chelsea’s current injury crisis is the fact someone has to occupy that area. Slowly, that has been changing. Despite the return to action, watch the American closely and while he is still drawing the fouls he used to, he looks to have lost a yard of pace. For someone who operates best when running past players and at speed, his current form and attributes he is showing when on the pitch—in any position—is relatively concerning to those who know what he is capable of doing.