Former Fulham forward Brian McBride has hailed Chelsea boss Frank Lampard for being patient with Christian Pulisic.
McBride told Chelsea’s official US podcast of how Lampard has been able to get the best out of Pulisic: “I think that’s the good thing about having a manager who has played the game at such a high level, because Frank was very patient with Christian at the beginning.
“Christian’s moved over to a new country, joined a new team and had to establish himself in a new league. There could have been the pressure there on him to deliver straight away but Frank understood that he needed to have time to adapt.
“So, from a US national team perspective, that was really nice to see. We don’t know what was happening behind the scenes at the club and how hands on that would have been, but it allowed time for Christian to settle in, adapt and integrate into the team. He was then able to understand how both Chelsea and Frank wanted him to play.
“Then when the time was right, Frank really let Christian loose and you could see before the injury he was really sharp, he was quick on his heels and he was hurting opposition defenders.”
Pulisic made 23 appearances for the Blues before his injury in January but the American international is now fit again.