Christian Pulisic Says Lack of Playing Time at Chelsea 'Very Frustrating'

Christian Pulisic echoed the thoughts of many United States national team fans after he was an unused substitute during Chelsea's 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

"Yeah, of course, it is very frustrating, but I will continue to work my hardest because I want to play," Pulisic said after the match, per Pro Soccer Talk's Joe Prince-Wright.

The 21-year-old Pennsylvania native added Chelsea manager Frank Lampard hasn't outlined a specific plan to get him featuring regularly in the squad: "Not so much. He said to keep working and I have to improve myself in training and try to get back in the line-up."

This was the risk of Pulisic signing with Chelsea in January ahead of making the move official in the summer. Even with Eden Hazard leaving and the club facing a transfer ban, playing time was far from a guarantee.

Pulisic is attempting to unseat Willian or Pedro, two players who have spent years at the club, and the Blues will want to give Callum Hudson-Odoi a steady role. The Athletic's Liam Twomey wrote earlier this month Chelsea see the 18-year-old as "integral to the club's long-term plans" after Bayern Munich made a sustained pursuit to secure a transfer.

Further compounding the situation, Lampard wasn't the manager when Chelsea signed Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund. As a result, he may not feel as personally invested in Pulisic's development as he would have if he had targeted the winger from the outset.

Mason Mount, for example, spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Derby County with Lampard as manager and has become a fixture in the Chelsea starting XI this season.

"He needs time to adapt, but we support him on that," Lampard said of Pulisic prior to Saturday's match, per ESPN FC. "His time will come."

It's far too early to make any definitive conclusions about Pulisic's future at Chelsea. But Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Romelu Lukaku all struggled at Stamford Bridge before thriving in new surroundings. Perhaps the same will prove true for Pulisic as well.