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Now is the time for Christian Pulisic to deliver on all of that promise

By Graham Ruthven

CHESTER, PA - MAY 28: Christian Pulisic #10 of the US Men's National Team lines up for the corner kick during the International Friendly Match between United States Mens National Team v Bolivia at Talen Energy Stadium on May 28, 2018 in Chester, PA. The US Men's National Team won the match with a score of 3 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
CHESTER, PA - MAY 28: Christian Pulisic #10 of the US Men's National Team lines up for the corner kick during the International Friendly Match between United States Mens National Team v Bolivia at Talen Energy Stadium on May 28, 2018 in Chester, PA. The US Men's National Team won the match with a score of 3 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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After being heralded as the savior of American soccer, now is the time we find out if Christian Pulsic can fulfill his prophecy.

It was something Christian Pulisic had been preparing for his whole life. It was in England where the young American first found a love for soccer, joining the youth ranks of Brackley Town, a tiny non-league club situated midway between Birmingham and London. So when Pulisic put pen to paper in January on a $72.5 million move to Chelsea it delivered on his destiny.

Of course, Pulisic’s destiny expects that he will achieve much more than just a mega-money transfer to the Premier League. He is American soccer’s first global icon, the player a nation has waited a generation, possibly more, for. Pulisic wasn’t just predicted to join a Premier League club, like Chelsea, but to thrive at one.

For so long, Pulisic has been talked out in the terms of what he might become. This perhaps does a disservice to what the forward has already achieved, becoming a star for Borussia Dortmund, one of the biggest clubs in Europe, as a teenager. But this speaks to the potential Pulisic possesses.

Pulisic has the ability not just to become an American soccer icon, but a worldwide one. The 20-year-old must aim to remove the qualification that often comes for many of his countrymen. Landon Donovan was good… for an American. Clint Dempsey was good… for an American. When observers and critics start seeing Pulisic’s nationality as an irrelevance, that’s when he will have made it.

With his 21st birthday this September, Pulisic is moving into a period of reckoning. If he is to truly realize his promise as a soccer player now is the time he must start to polish his game. Chelsea expect consistency of their new record purchase, especially after a summer which has seen their manager and best player leave.

Chelsea fans believe Pulisic has been signed as a replacement for Eden Hazard, one of the best players on the planet and a talent who has just signed for Real Madrid as a $125 million Galactico. The task in front of the American could barely be a more daunting one, but this is the sort of pressure and expectation that comes with being such an exciting talent.

Pressure is something Pulisic has grown accustomed to at a young age – playing in front of 70,000+ fans in Dortmund isn’t a stress-free occupation, after all – but what he will experience in England will be something new. Many young players have been chewed up and spat out by the Premier League machine.

Chelsea, in particular, can be a harsh and unforgiving environment for new signings no matter how young they may be. Take Alvaro Morata, for instance. He arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017 as one of the brightest young strikers in the game. Morata, however, was only given a handful of games to prove himself before self-doubt took over, with the Spaniard eventually shipped out to Atletico Madrid, where he has once again looked an accomplished frontman.

Right now, Pulisic is only concerned with leading the United States to Gold Cup glory with Gregg Berhalter’s side facing Curacao in the tournament’s quarterfinals this Sunday – a match they should win with relative ease. Pulisic has been the face of the USMNT for some time now but has so far only tasted disappointment with his country, infamously missing out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

The sight of Pulisic getting his hands on some silverware with the USA this summer would be somewhat symbolic. Now is the time, as he prepares to arrive in the Premier League as one of the most expensive players in the division’s history, that he is expected to deliver.

Promise is no longer enough.

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