The United States international couldn’t control his excitement while waiting to get the 2019-20 campaign underway in his new surroundings
Christian Pulisic has admitted that he “wore a Chelsea jersey around the house all the time” during pre-season, while itching to begin the next chapter of his career in west London.
Pulisic signed for the Blues in a £58 million ($75m) deal way back in January, before being sent back to Borussia Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.
The 21-year-old came agonisingly close to winning a Bundesliga title during his last few months at Westfalenstadion, but said his goodbyes after Bayern pipped BVB to the finishing post on the final day of the campaign.
Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Pulisic has had to be patient in pursuit of a regular starting spot, with Frank Lampard integrating him gradually rather than throwing him in at the deep end.
The Chelsea manager’s approach seems to have paid dividends in recent weeks, with the United States star now firing on all cylinders to help the team fight for a place in the Premier League’s top four.
Pulisic has admitted that he couldn’t wait to “get started” at Stamford Bridge and even wore a Blues shirt around the house as he prepared to make his move to join Lampard’s side.
“The focus on football at this level means the pressure’s always there too, but it’s not something that worries me too much or that’s important to me,” he told Chelsea’s matchday programme ahead of a home clash with West Ham on Saturday.
“I have myself to worry about and I keep high enough standards for myself, so the pressures from outside don’t really affect me as much.
“I expect a lot of myself and I have good people around me who care – the coaches, my team-mates – that are more important, so I try to focus on that.
“Just to be in England, to be here in London, playing for Chelsea, it’s awesome. I have a confession to make about that, actually.
“During the summer, I had a short time off after playing for the national team in the Gold Cup, and I had this Chelsea jersey at home that was made for me when I signed back in January.
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“I was wearing it around my house all the time – I just wanted to be here so bad, I just wanted to get started because I was excited for the challenge, excited for everything about it.”
The Blues will be looking to tighten their grip on the final Champions League spot by beating the Hammers this weekend, before hosting Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Lampard’s men are six points clear of fifth-place Wolves at the moment and 11 behind runaway leaders Liverpool, who are in action against Brighton at Anfield later on Saturday.