Christian Pulisic, has been nothing but talismanic since the Premier League's restart this season. Having started the last 5 games for Chelsea, he's starting to live up to his 54 million Euros price tag with 3 goals and 2 assists. If he can perform with this consistency his spot on the left flank will be solidified no matter who walks into the team (shoutouts to Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner).
The restart is obviously a dub for Pulisic, but it had us wondering, "What about the growth of other American players?" We've seen a rise in American football talent in the past two years. The likes of Tim Weah, Josh Sargent, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, to name a few, are starting to make a buzz playing for notable teams, Lille, Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig, and FC Schalke respectively. These are fairly big clubs in each of their leagues and they all have had their runs of success in the past but to put it bluntly, they're no Chelsea.
Pulisic, himself decided to move from Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga to Chelsea for his various reasons. You can argue that it was for the money, or bigger club status, et cetera but one thing is true, he will definitely see more football.
Champions League is the money maker for big clubs and the ultimate test for club players. If you are looking for long term success a club that qualifies for the best tournaments would be one of your best bets. Pulisic, has already played in the Champions League with Dortmund, so he can continue on his success to glory but there aren't many other American players who can boast those same stats. Tim Weah for Lille and Tyler Adams with RB Leipzig, could have a chance at Champions League glory but there will always be the lingering question of "How far can they go?"
Pushing the issue of big club versus top club aside, the amount of Americans we do have playing overseas is fairly slim compared to other nations. If rumors are true and other nations are pushing for an embargo on American entry due to our failed attempt to subdue the coronavirus the growth of American players competing at the top level could drop considerably.
This isn't even in correlation with the issues that we are having domestically. Universities are now looking into disbanding some of their sports organizations most notably Stanford, who are set to shut down 11 varsity programs due to the financial burden exacerbated by the pandemic with Ivy League schools shutting down all sports this fall. We could end up seeing the shut down of more sports programs becoming more common nationwide as the pandemic progresses. This in turn could cause a shortage of homegrown prospects in the long run.
As for the MLS, all we can do is wait and see how their season pans out to get an idea of how they're able to cope. Thankfully the NWSL, can be seen as a success fo far as they continue to play through their tournament. We high ly recommend watching, every game has been quality so far.
As for now we can all watch Christian Pulisic, tear it up this season, and hopefully for the next coming seasons thinking about what could've been, a United States team could've competed.