Chris Sutton sending warning to Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic

BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has said that Christian Pulisic has to prove himself in order to earn a regular run in the Premier League under Frank Lampard. The United States international made a positive beginning to the season where he was handed with a regular starting role but things have become difficult as the campaign has progressed.

In the past four Premier League matches, Pulisic has been afforded with just 10 minutes of playing time and that has resulted from the fact that Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount, Pedro and Willian are all ahead of him in the selection order. Speaking on Radio 5 Live, Sutton said that Lampard does not have an agenda against the former Borussia Dortmund man but he is certainly not a favourite with the Blues boss.

He told: “He has to prove himself. Frank Lampard has no agenda against him, he’s picking the best possible team to win games of football, that’s his job. He wasn’t Frank’s signing, of course. With [Callum] Hudson-Odoi and Mason Mount coming to the fore, he’s going to have a major issue getting into the starting line-up. I really do think that. I don’t see a way in for him at the moment. Fifty-eight million, a lot of money to spend and it would be interesting to ask Frank now if he would sign him at this moment in time if he hadn’t signed him before? The answer to that, I think, is pretty obvious – he wouldn’t.”

Pulisic was touted as the potential successor to Eden Hazard, who made the move to Real Madrid during the summer, but he has been far off from meeting the expectations. While Pulisic has already contributed four assists, Lampard is still said to hold concerns over the off-the-ball ability of the forward and he has gone with Mount and Willian as the recognised attackers. Elsewhere, Hudson-Odoi has been hugely impressive after his injury comeback and he has contributed a goal or an assist in each of his four appearances this season. He has started just one of those games.

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