Graham Potter has been accused of 'not liking' Christian Pulisic in a bewildering rant by former United States international Eric Wynalda. The 24-year-old winger was heavily linked with an exit from Chelsea in the summer, having fallen out of favour under former boss Thomas Tuchel.
But, even under new management, Pulisic has struggled to nail down a place in the Blues' starting XI. He sees his contract at Stamford Bridge expire in 2024 and has featured nine times for the west Londoners in the Premier League this season, averaging just 31.6 minutes an appearance.
The USMNT star often resides on the bench for the west Londoners, with Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling holding down the pair of inside-forward roles behind either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Armando Broja. But according to Wynalda, Pulisic deserves as much of a chance as his teammates.
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"I don’t know the reasons why but when you constantly go through this phase of games and Gallagher gets a call, Sterling’s going to get the call, Havertz is going to get the call, Mount is going to get the call way before he even looks Pulisic’s way, so this is an interesting one," he told VegasInsider.
"He should start. That’s the bottom line. He should start against Manchester United. I just don’t think he does. I think Graham Potter pulls back again and has to answer all the Americans' questions once again."
The Chelsea boss has been complimentary of Pulisic despite his limited opportunities. The winger was labelled as 'fantastic' by Potter and has been told to be ready when called upon.
Speaking to football.london at Cobham training ground, the 47-year-old said: "You can imagine my focus is on Chelsea. I understand that all the players have ambition and want to play for different reasons, for their families, careers or World Cups.
''That's all fine but it's my job to select the right team for whatever game. [I'm] not saying I am right all the time, I am not, but somebody has got to make the call. With Christian I would say he has been fantastic around the place, been really good with team mates, contributed against Wolves.
"He is pushing for a place, pushing for a start. Things change quickly in football and he needs to be ready."
Despite Potter's pleasantries, Wynalda is not convinced. The former United States international has accused the Chelsea boss of avoiding Pulisic, who is valued at £43.6million by CIES Football Observatory, at all costs in an astonishing claim.
"A lot of comments coming from Graham Potter suggesting that he’s great around the place, he’s a good player, he’s a good guy, we’re all rooting for him," Wynalda said. "Bottom line is Graham Potter doesn’t like him. He just doesn’t like him.
"He’s the one player that if he’s coming down the hallway, he’s looking for the side door. He doesn’t wanna talk to him. He doesn’t wanna look at him and nobody will admit that."
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