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The £58m signing of Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund not only presented Chelsea with one of the most promising talents in the Bundesliga but, given the departure of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid, potentially even a long-term successor to the influential Belgian. Pulisic will first have to fulfil his undoubted potential if he is to prove that calibre of player, and he will also have to overcome the significant competition that Willian, Pedro, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, Callum Hudson-Odoi and soon Hakim Ziyech represent.

Chelsea’s manager Frank Lampard was once that influential, and discussing the American, he said: “He has got the ability to go on to the extra level, which is the top level of world football. He can score more but we’ve got a player in Christian that is really exciting.”