Frank Lampard has insisted that Christian Pulisic will not be allowed to leave Chelsea on loan in January despite the winger’s slow start to life at Stamford Bridge.
The 21-year-old joined Chelsea in a £58m move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer but he has struggled to force his way into Lampard’s starting XI on a regular basis.
Pulisic has been restricted to just ten minutes of action in Chelsea’s last four Premier League matches and he has vented his frustration at his lack of opportunities.
That has led to speculation that the American could be allowed to leave on loan in January but Lampard flat out refused to entertain the idea ahead of Chelsea’s game against Newcastle.
‘No,’ was Lampard’s reply when asked if Pulisic could be loaned out. ‘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.
‘I said it before the last game, I always have a problem who to pick and people make my decisions in training or how they’re playing, and at the minute with winning four on the bounce I need the edge of staying in the team and keep performing and everyone is the same.
‘With Christian coming here, we have to protect him for that fact because he’s young. Christian, as with every player in the squad, needs to work hard in training, keep improving in training, see the direction we’re going, be a part of it, and show what you can do on a match day, and all the players are the same there.’
Whereas Pulisic has struggled, a number of young players have shone for Chelsea this season with Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Callum Hudson-Odoi all turning in impressive performances.
Lampard was keen to stress that Pulisic himself is still only young and insisted that he sees him in the ‘big picture’ for Chelsea’s long-term future.
He added: ‘It is [easy to forget his age]. You can look beyond that because he came through at a very young age at Dortmund and huge credit to him for that. It’s amazing to come through that. He was playing at a top-level team at Dortmund.
‘There were times when he was in the team, times when he wasn’t, that’s part of development. I was fortunate when I came through in my day because West Ham didn’t have too many players in front of me, so I got opportunities. The pathway was open.
‘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.’
