Graham Potter has a lot to do in a short space of time at Chelsea. It's a typical new manager appointment in that he needs to take control of the dressing room, add some spark and energy to performances, implement his own tactics, bring through the youth and deal with some fan unrest.
He is perhaps fortunate to have some extra days training following the postponement of Chelsea's fixture against Fulham, but that just makes his likely first match a Champions League debut at his new home ground: no pressure. If next weekend's matches go ahead then his first league game will be against Liverpool. The international break that follows will probably be well received after that.
Within this scope he has to get a misfiring attack to gel and propel the team. If, as expected, he sticks with a three-man defence, it will once again pose a big question as to how Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - as the most likely players to battle for the front three spots - can play together.
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Outside of that, Thomas Tuchel's departure is unlikely to completely change the feelings of previously wantaway forwards Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, who both fell quickly out of favour under the German and never truly recovered. Their desperate use in the final weeks of Tuchel's reign sums up the approach taken: it appeared hopeful rather than tactical.
Once again for Pulisic and Ziyech they find themselves in need of a boost, with both moving onto their third new manager in three years since joining the club. Pulisic is almost on his fourth considering Maurizio Sarri was in charge when Chelsea agreed a deal to buy him in 2019.
Pulisic, who struggled to hit form under Frank Lampard outside of his post-lockdown burst, was backed by many to become a key part of Tuchel's structure at Chelsea given the pair had a good relationship at Dortmund. That wasn't the case though, and it has led to the USA men's coach Greg Berhalter to ruffle some feathers.
In an interview, he said: "I’m not happy a guy lost his job. But if this means more opportunity for Christian [Pulisic], then it’s positive because he’s a guy that’s proven that he can perform at that level. We’ll just have to wait and see."
Pulisic is already public enemy No.1 for some Chelsea fans due to his treatment from the national team, which people have said seems to come as a priority over club football, and Berhalter's comments won't help that. The frustration for Pulisic and his manager is understandable, though.
In 84 matches that Lampard managed, Pulisic played 51 times with an average of 68 minutes per game, most of these appearances were on his preferred left wing. Under Tuchel, who managed 100 matches, Pulisic did play more matches, 71, but only average 51 minutes per game. He was rarely seen as a first choice player, instead relegated to impact substitute and even less frequently was he played in a natural winger position, instead, like Ziyech, used as an inside No.10, makeshift wingback and towards the end, some variant of central midfielder.
Despite playing more matches, Pulisic only made marginally more minutes on the pitch for Tuchel and contributed less, too. He got 12 goals and nine assists under the German as opposed to 13 goals and 10 assists for Lampard.
This wasn't how anybody hoped that Pulisic's raw talent would be used, not least Berhalter, who said upon Tuchel's appointment, "For Christian, I think the benefit is, if Tuchel is the coach, that he knows him very well and that's always important. He's coming in with a really good understanding of what Christian can do and his skillset, and I think that's important.
"He also has seen Christian develop and improve over his time at Dortmund and, for Christian, it's the familiarity with how he coaches, his coaching staff, his communication style.
"That's all helpful. There's not that uncomfortable period when you're getting to know the coach. I think those could possibly be the benefits.
"In terms of Frank not being the coach anymore, it's a really tough business. Chelsea is a top club and they expect wins in all of the games that they play and it's very difficult for managers to deal with that. It's never a nice thing when a colleague loses his job.
"In terms of the replacement, if it's Tuchel, we do have relationships with that staff and I'm sure we'll be able to pick up right where we left off."
It didn't work out like that though, and now the American star must try to force his way into Potter's new Chelsea. Given the versatile work of Leandro Trossard, Pulisic might not yet be clear of the wingback position, but given the importance of a World Cup for his nation, he will have to take the minutes that he can get.
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