Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has sent a clear message to Christian Pulisic about his performance levels this season.
The Blues boss did not immediately make Pulisic a regular in his squad at the start of this season, though the summer signing from Borussia Dortmund has improved a great deal in recent times and has begun to establish himself at Stamford Bridge.
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Still, Lampard is not going easy on the young USA international, sending him the clear message that he still expects more from him.
Discussing how Pulisic can improve, Lampard suggested he’s getting in positions to score and could probably improve his goal tally.
Asked what he wants to see from Pulisic, Lampard was quoted by Goal as saying: “More, a lot more. I have just mentioned there about conversion of chances. I think he gets himself in so many good positions with his talent and his dribbling ability that I think more goals will be the next stage of that.
“I’m really pleased with him. I have asked a lot of him. He has played a lot of games recently, back to back, in a new league that we know is very physical for him. I am asking a lot, he has done very well. But I expect a lot more.”
This perhaps seems slightly harsh from the Chelsea manager, though he’ll no doubt feel he’s simply keeping standards high at the club.
That said, Pulisic is a young player settling in a new country and a new league, and has shown plenty of potential so far, so Lampard may want to be careful not to dent his confidence.