Today Chelsea bought Christian Pulisic for $73 million. It was the biggest and most expensive signing of an American soccer player ever.
Even Clint Dempsey never played for that big of a club or was signed for that much money. It’s worth mentioning that Michael Bradley played for AS Roma, and that club and the level of their play is comparable to Chelsea. Bradley wasn’t signed for anywhere close to that kind of money though. Nevertheless, Bradley playing for a big Serie A club known for attacking soccer was a huge milestone for American soccer.
Based on Pulisic’s skill level combined with his speed and his past performances in the Bundesliga, the Champions League, and for the United States, the American forward/midfielder is arguably worth the money. In contrast to Dempsey, Pulisic is much faster and quicker, and these extra gears of speed and quickness make him more of an attacking threat against elite competition. Dempsey wasn’t slow by any means, but he definitely lacked the speed to blow past top defenders. We’ll see if Pulisic has the same longevity, fire, skill, and toughness as Dempsey.
As an attacking player, Pulisic doesn’t have any real weaknesses. He’s skilled with both feet in his dribbling, passing, and shooting, plus he’s creative and flashy in his playing style. He’s also very direct and bold, which is rare for an American player. Many people have praised Pulisic for his maturity and mentality, and those are two more qualities that will help him out. Given the amount of social media commentary on the Premier League, Pulisic would be wise to take the Kobe Bryant approach and not read anything said or written about him on social media or in the press.
The American has his work really cut out for him in seeing playing time for Chelsea next season because he will likely be competing for playing time with Willian, who is nothing short of a world-class midfielder and forward. The Brazilian smokes defenders off the dribble, and he’s a pass master. Let’s not forget that Willian normally starts for Brazil. Out of everything in world football, starting for Brazil has to be one of the strongest proofs of a player’s quality and class.
Pulisic’s biggest giant to slay will be what the fans and media say and write about him because this could mess with his confidence if he pays attention to it. From a playing standpoint, Pulisic has demonstrated that he plays well against elite competition, and he’s a goalscorer and assist man. As this author wrote before Pulisic played for the United States, once you have played a home game at Borussia Dortmund in front of their huge crowd, then you are already prepared to play anywhere else.
Chelsea is a bigger brand than Dortmund, but Pulisic won’t find the crowd or pressure any more daunting than at Dortmund. The real demons are the ones on the internet. Beppe Severgnini once wrote that “In the Coliseum there were lions, but in San Siro there are TV cameras.” The same analogy applies here where these virtual monsters are maybe as scary as real predators.