‘it’s been up and down this year’ – Christian Pulisic says life tough at Chelsea and has had an impact on mental health

Christian Pulisic has said life is tough at Chelsea, and has admitted being played out of position has taken a mental toll.

The American was signed by the Blues in 2019, and arrived from Borussia Dortmund to widespread fanfare as he was viewed as a top-class attacking talent.

His time at Stamford Bridge has been plagued by injuries, and when fit he has been deployed in a variety of positions by coach Thomas Tuchel.

Pulisic’s preferred position is out wide – and he has been compared to Eden Hazard by former Blues boss Frank Lampard.

But he has struggled to nail down that place, while injuries to other players have seen him deployed as a wing back and a midfielder.

“Obviously it’s, yeah, it’s been up and down this year, for sure,” the 23-year-old said. “Not exactly where I want to be and how I want things to be right now. But, yeah, I’m just going to keep going.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough. I haven’t always been playing in the positions I want to play in.”

While voicing frustration with his current situation, Pulisic seems determined to get his head down and impress Tuchel.

He said: “But I think it’s a good quality to be versatile and be able to play in all kinds of positions and have different strengths on the pitch. So, yeah, I’ve learned a lot and I think I’m ready to hopefully be in a spot in the next couple of games that I’m more comfortable in.”

Pulisic is currently on international duty with United States, and he says a weight is lifted when he is with the national side.

“It’s a lot sometimes,” Pulisic said. “It’s always when I come to the national team, it’s ‘how are things at Chelsea? How – what’s this, what’s that?’ And, yeah, things are … it’s tough. It’s tough.

“It’s definitely played a lot on me, and mentally it’s been difficult at times. But I’m always very excited to come back with the national team and sort of step away and get to enjoy, get to enjoy playing with these guys and get to just enjoying football, in general.”