With Christian Pulisic stuck on Chelsea‘s bench this season, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter predicts his biggest star will get back into the English club’s starting lineup.
“I’m a guy that bets on Christian just because I’ve seen it before,” Berhalter said Wednesday after an event to promote Nike’s World Cup jersey launch on Sept. 15.
“He is not counted on in a way that he’d like to, and he gets on the field and he proves everyone wrong and he ends up playing. I mean that’s what he’s been doing. So I tend to believe that’s going to happen. And I think his mind is n a good spot and I think he’s going to fight for it because that’s the type of guy he is.”
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The 23-year-old midfielder, in his fourth season with Chelsea, has been used as a second-half substitute by manager Thomas Tuchel in each of the team’s first five matches, limited from seven to 27 minutes. He hasn’t scored.
Less than three months before Berhalter selects his 26-man roster for the Americans’ World Cup opener against Wales on Sept. 21, several players in his potential player pool of 38-to-40 are on the move.
They include Sergino Dest, who sources told ESPN on Wednesday was set to join AC Milan on loan, and Ricardo Pepi, who has moved on loan to Groningen in the Netherlands.
Goalkeepers are also in flux. Zack Steffen, loaned from Manchester City to second-tier Middlesbrough, missed the last two matches because of a knee injury. Matt Turner, in his first season at Arsenal, appears likely to play only in the League Cup and perhaps the Europa League. Ethan Horvath starts at second tier Luton Town and Sean Johnson at New York City FC.
“It’s something we think about,” Berhalter said. “I think there’s still time and we’ll have to see.”
