"The sad thing is he loves the club, team-mates, and London... puts his heart and soul into being a pro," a tweet, that was quickly deleted, from Christian Pulisic's father, Mark, read after Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at Everton at the beginning of May.
On that day at Goodison Park, where the Blues were poor, Pulisic came off the bench to play just 22 minutes as the visitors were chasing a goal. The American didn't have the desired impact, though, and it caused his father to tweet about his son's frustration at the club.
Thomas Tuchel was asked about the tweet from Pulisic's dad a few days after. The Chelsea head coach said: "I am not concerned if a father says that a player does not love me! I am not concerned about that.
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"It is a normal thing [if players are frustrated]. Like every manager, we have our reasons to choose line-ups and have our reasons to go for players in the first XI.
"At this level of competition, you will never see happy faces from players who are not selected. Between me and Christian exists zero problem."
Pulisic, who has been at Chelsea since the summer of 2019 after signing from Borussia Dortmund for almost £60million, played just 22 times for the Blues in the Premier League last season. He had six goals to his name over the term in what was a disappointing season on a personal note.
The USA international failed to convince Tuchel that he deserved a regular place in the first team and that has led to heavy speculation over his future this summer. The likes of Juventus have been credited with an interest in the winger, while Borussia Dortmund have also been linked with re-signing the Chelsea attacker.
Chelsea are looking to bring another two forwards to Stamford Bridge this summer, something that could impact Pulisic and his future in west London. The Blues have agreed a deal with Manchester City for Raheem Sterling.
The west Londoners have had a £45m, plus £10m in add-ons, bid accepted for Sterling, football.london understands. Meanwhile, with Raphinha looking like he is on his way to Barcelona, according to reports in Spain, Ousmane Dembele could once again become the centre of attention to Chelsea.
Dembele and Sterling are both versatile wingers, who have been used on both sides at Barcelona and Man City, respectively. Pulisic, likewise, can operate on either side, but the introduction of one of Dembele or Sterling, or even both, may push him even further down the pecking order under Tuchel.
With just two years remaining on Pulisic's contract at Chelsea, there is no indication the American will agree on an extension at Stamford Bridge. Since Tuchel took over in January 2021, only Callum Hudson-Odoi – out of Chelsea's attacking players – has played fewer minutes than Pulisic.
He admitted while on international duty last month that he is craving more time on the pitch. Pulisic said: "Of course, I want to get more playing time.
"I want to be on the field as much as I can and be the sharpest I can be and fit as well. I think I still got a lot of games, but it's always something that I am working at and trying to be regular at club level as well to put myself in the best position to be fit when I come here with the national team."
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