Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has dismissed the idea of a January loan exit for Christian Pulisic and has reiterated he’s part of the long-term plan.
The 21-year-old has bagged four assists in seven appearances for the Blues so far this season, and so based on that alone, he has had a decent start to life in west London.
SEE MORE: Chelsea injury news: Double blow for Lampard, but good news on key trio
However, looking deeper into the start to the season, he has yet to feature in the Champions League and has been left on the bench for the last four Premier League games in a row.
In turn, it has raised question marks over his ability to settle and prove himself at Chelsea, albeit it’s still so early in his spell with the club.
Nevertheless, he will be under pressure given how other young player are impressing under Lampard so far this season, but the Chelsea boss has taken the pressure off his player’s shoulders and insisted that he sees the ‘big picture’ when it comes to Pulisic and ruled out a loan exit in January.
“No,” he said when asked if Pulisic could be loaned out, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “With Christian he’s come to us in a big move, let’s make no mistake about it, and then he’s just turned 21 recently, and we’ve got a competitive squad here.
“With Christian, huge credit to him for coming through at Dortmund at a young age, but then it brings other difficulties where sometimes you’re out of the team.
“You come to Chelsea and it’s a similar situation. The demands are huge. The interest from outside is huge and he’s a young boy. I have no problem. I see the big picture with Christian and I see it with all the young players.”
Given the way in which the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have shone so far this season under Lampard, Pulisic arguably is in the perfect place to continue his development and will get chances to impress with Chelsea also looking to compete on multiple fronts this season.
Nevertheless, his situation will become increasingly complicated with Callum Hudson-Odoi now back from injury, and so competition for places will be fierce.
