Jamie Redknapp has said both player and coach must be praised for Christian Pulisic’s brilliant hat trick over the weekend.
He said, “I was at Turf Moor on Saturday to see the American start in the Premier League for the first time since August, and he scored a perfect hattrick.”
“Left foot, right foot, head, win confirmed for Chelsea, job done.”
“Before introducing himself against Burnley, Pulisic’s ability was being questioned. The critics were out in force, apparently because he had not had the impact they expected.”
“That frustrated me. In this country, we seem to like judging a player before he gets a proper chance to show us what he is all about.”
“Just because Pulisic cost £58million, or because he is seen as a superstar in the United States, does not mean we should expect him to arrive in England and rip it up from the get-go. It takes time.”
“He has to get to know the Premier League first. Just like Evra did for United. Just like Fabinho has done for Liverpool. After signing the midfielder for £39m in the summer of 2018, Jurgen Klopp gave him time.”
“Now, the 26-year-old is one of the best No 6s out there. He is crucial to the league leaders, having appeared in every Liverpool game this season, except when he was rested for their Carabao Cup clash with MK Dons.”
“Frank Lampard knows what he is doing with Pulisic, too. He is taking care of the 21-year-old forward. The American is obviously keen to impress – he cut short his summer holidays so he could get to Chelsea and impress his new boss as soon as possible – but there is no rush.”
“The same goes for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal. Yes the Frenchman cost a club record £72m but can we not give him time before branding him a flop or bad buy? To write the 24-year-old off after a few months is ludicrous and downright unfair.”
“I believe Pepe will come good, and I think Pulisic will, too. You learn a lot about a player’s personality when you speak to him after a match.”
“Before meeting Pulisic for the first time on Saturday, after he agreed to join us for a pitchside chat on Sky, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew how huge he was in America, so would he be confident? Arrogant?”
“Yet after speaking to him, I left with the impression that this is a nice, mild-mannered boy. He was quiet, shy almost. He even had to be told by his team-mates to collect the match ball, because it was his first-ever professional hat-trick!”
“Let’s give Pulisic the time he deserves and see how far he can go.”
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