The former USMNT star praised Christian Pulisic's impact at AC Milan, highlighting his crucial role despite team's struggles
Pulisic emerges as AC Milan's most valuable playerAmerican star's productivity deemed a "steal" for the RossoneriConsistent performances across three different coachesGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED
Christian Pulisic has established himself as AC Milan's standout performer since joining the club, with his contributions proving invaluable across multiple managerial tenures. The forward has contributed to 26 goals across all competitions this term, a tally that includes 19 goals in Serie A.
That prompted ESPN FC analyst Herculez Gomez to label him as the team's most valuable player.
“He has been since he signed,” Gomez said on Futbol Americas when asked if Pulisic is AC Milan’s MVP. “$20 million is an absolute steal for a player like Christian Pulisic and for that productivity. I can think of maybe one player that comes close to goal involvements, assists and goals, over the course of the last two seasons and that’s Lautaro Martinez. He’s the only player that I know for a fact that he has more goal involvements than Christian Pulisic.
"Other than that you’re gonna have to do some real research to find a player as productive as Pulisic. He is the face of Milan right now. Christian Pulisic has also been their (Milan’s) most consistent player and he’s been the guy that you can count on in any competition. Whatever the case has been, he’s been that productive player.”
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Gomez also added that Pulisic’s performances have come with the challenge of playing under three different coaches.
“It’s not that he’s only been good with one coach," he said. "He was good with Stefano Pioli, he was good with Paulo Fonseca and he’s been good now with Sergio Conceicao. Different setups, different coaches asking different things of him and he’s been the most consistent player to date. For a US men’s national team fan this must be a thrilling time to be invested in Serie A, to be invested in Pulisic.
"And the unfortunate thing, it’s this AC Milan team. It’s this version of this giant that are teetering ninth or tenth for most of the season. And it’s not been a fun watch for most fans whether you’re Milan or national team if it’s not just to solely focus on Pulisic and his productivity.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Christian Pulisic has been a standout star for AC Milan since he signed for the club in the summer of 2023 from Chelsea. The 26-year-old has contributed to 52 goals in 92 appearances for the Serie A giants.
Getty Images SportWHAT’S NEXT?
Following their commanding victory over Udinese, AC Milan sit in ninth place on the Serie A table with 51 points after 32 league games played. They sit six points behind fifth place Bologna and eight points behind fourth place Juventus in the race for a place in Europe.
The Rossoneri face Atlanta BC next on April 20 at the San Siro and the play cross-city rivals Internazionale in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal, going into the clash 1-1 on aggregate.
