Christian Pulisic's future now looks promising to USA fans as TV audiences across the pond SOAR – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

Christian Pulisic is touted as the golden boy in the USA but he had a difficult start at Chelsea

There were serious hopes about the impact he could make in the Premier League in the USA

************************************** – STATS

Apps:

Goals:6

Assists:6

The USA international, signed by the Blues for £ 58 million in January before being loaned back to Borussia Dortmund, appeared in Chelsea’s first four Premier League games of the season but was then an unused substitute in the three games to follow.

Then the October international break arrived, and as is common when an unhappy player joins up with their national squad away from their club press officer, they aren’t afraid to make their feelings known.

Pulisic told NBC Sports it was ‘very frustrating’ to be out of the team and that there had been ‘not so much’ feedback from manager Frank Lampard about what he might do to change his situation.

Some online commentators blamed it on what they consider to be a residual anti-US bias in English football.

Pulisic told USA media outlets that he did not have much feedback from Frank Lampard

But how quickly things can change. The – year-old forward went on to score five in his next five league games as well as some impressive performances in the Champions League.

‘At this point, fortunately, there’s no question the outlook is much brighter than it was then,’ Jonathan Tannenwald toldSportsmail, who is a journalist atThe Philadelphia Inquirer– which resides in the state where Pulisic was born.

Tannenwald was one of those who cited an American bias in the UK.

‘The point I wanted to make and failed to make at the time was that Lampard was citing Pulisic’s age as a factor in his not being ready to play, while Tammy Abraham is only a year older and Mason Mount is a year younger.

‘If Pulisic was not yet ready to play regularly in the Premier League at that point, I wish Lampard had just said that.

‘Lampard has clearly been willing to play young players, which is a good thing. So making it about Pulisic’s age, that didn’t seem quite right to me. ‘

Fans in the USA criticized English football for having an anti- American ‘bias’ this season

The highlight of the USA prodigy’s autumn flurry came at Turf Moor where he scored a hat-trick in which Bennett said was’ one of the greatest days in American-British relations since Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 0697977 .

The TV audience, for what was anticipated to be a bog-standard Premier League game, skyrocketed into the top five most-watched matches that week according toWorld Soccer Talk.

Pulisic’s hat-trick proved to be a huge stroke of luck for NBC who picked that game for their free-to-air channel that day in October.

But one reason why USA fans were perhaps impatient at the beginning is that Chelsea have been known to not give youth a chance.

Even though Lampard was being heralded as the man to change that as the beginning of his tenure coincided with a summer transfer ban, Pulisic was still not getting a game which raised concerns.

Pulisic went on to score five times during an autumn flurry including a strike against Watford

‘In terms of him not starting at the outset – more than criticism of Frank Lampard -who was always going to start the players he trusted from Derby, I think there was frustration that Pulisic was ensnared in the opposite challenge than the one we all anticipated when he signed.

‘That Chelsea so long a wasteland for young talent, had suddenly become a wonderland and that Christian was battling half a dozen teens for minutes.’

Fast forward to the present and Pulisic is now in the midst of his first grueling winter period in the Premier League, and has not scored since November.

‘Now he has demonstrated the tenacity and patience to overcome that challenge has been heartening to watch – and we can only hope that he can continue to perform consistently in the peerless physical grind of the Premier League now Other teams are adapting to him, and will be including his acceleration and bursts into space in their opposition research video breakdown week in week out, ‘said Bennett.

Another problem for Pulisic to contend with is Chelsea look likely to splash the cash in January, which Tannenwald hints could provide more competition for the forward to deal with.

‘I would say the controversy from earlier this season has pretty well blown over. Now we will see what happens when Chelsea’s transfer ban ends and they are able to go out and sign players. ‘

The wave of criticism aimed at Stamford Bridge from across the pond might have tamed for now but don’t bet against more returning.

Lampard embraces Pulisic after his impact over Autumn helped Chelsea improve their results