Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic has revealed why he is struggling at Stamford Bridge this season.
Pulisic has struggled to hold down a starting place under manager, Frank Lampard this season following his £53million move from Borussia Dortmund.
The 21-year-old is also yet to get on the score sheet, but has picked up a few assists in various competitions.
Having failed to find the back of the net in the first five matches he started, Lampard dropped the American to the bench.
The winger has only managed to play 10 minutes of football since then.
But Pulisic is now saying that the pressure of being an American is one of the reasons he hasn’t reach his best form at the Blues, adding that his country’s historic struggles to produce top-level footballers was the reason.
“It makes you feel really good at the beginning to be honest, you feel great, you see all these things, people talking about you on social media; “wow this kid is great, he’s special, he’s playing, he’s scoring goals at 17 or 18 years old for his national team, he’s playing for Dortmund in Europe,”‘ Pulisic told the Players’ Tribune.
“You feel really great and then it’s more just pressure you feel like all the stuff is kind of hitting you, and you start being expected to do all of these things.
“This generation can be tough, for young players especially, having people talk about you, having constant pressure on your back. Especially as Americans, we haven’t had a lot of top international talents throughout our years. If you’re not able to tune it out then it can be a weight on your shoulders.”
Pulisic will now hope to feature for Chelsea this weekend when they take on Newcastle United in the Premier League.