Graham Potter’s Chelsea: Where should Christian Pulisic play?

Lampard switched a 4-3-3 at some point in the 2020-21 season, a formation that saw the American deployed predominantly as a left winger playing as an inside forward, allowing him to cut inside. He also often ran in behind the opposition back line and get on the end of very good goal-scoring chances. Many fans think the American is a dribbler, but while the former Dortmund forward tries it often, he’s not very good at it: often completing between 45 – 50 per cent of attempts in a league season.

Chelsea has appointed Potter as head coach and while no one knows what formation or system he shall mainly play, his time at Brighton & Hove Albion suggests that he’d likely lean toward a three-centerback formation at Chelsea too, especially with the number of centerhalves at the club.

3-CB formations often restrict the roles of the forwards used in the system, depending on what the manager wants out of the players in that system. Where then does the attacker fit in? Across all his seasons at Chelsea, one thing has remained consistent with Pulisic: his ability to get on the receiving end of high-quality chances, as well as a decent conversion rate of those chances.