Pulisic may yet be dropped by new AC Milan coach, Lalas says

All bets could be off if a new coach doesn’t rate Pulisic, the ex-USMNT defender says

Christian Pulisic’s outstanding season at AC Milan may not count for much if a new head coach doesn’t rate him, according to Alexi Lalas.

Pulisic has set a career high in goals with 13 during his first season with AC Milan following a transfer from Chelsea last summer.

But the coach who brought him to Milan and offered a regular starting role, Stefano Pioli, appears to be heading for the exit at the end of the season, per multiple reports.

Pulisic has credited Pioli on multiple occasions with offering him the platform he needed to reignite his career. But it appears the U.S. national team star will now have to prove himself all over again leading into the 2024-25 campaign.

Speaking on his State of the Union Podcast, Lalas said that coaching changes won’t be anything new for Pulisic, but losing Pioli certainly won’t be a positive development for the 25-year-old.

“He’s been around long enough, he’s a grizzled veteran, even at a relatively young age in his career, and he’s seen how quickly things can change,” the former USMNT defender said.

“I got a question on X this morning about, ‘Has he done enough?’ Yeah, he’s done more than enough to prove his worth, to prove his value to Milan. Matter of fact, I think you could argue he’s been their best player.

“It doesn’t matter because when there is a changing of the guard, there’s often a change of mentality and you have people that come in with their preconceived notions and their baggage and their direction that they want to go.

“Who knows? Christian Pulisic might be in a place that thousands of players have been, where they are just not part of the plans going forward. The good part for Christian Pulisic is I think there will be a lot of suitors out there.”

Pulisic and Milan will face Juventus in Serie A on Saturday in a game that could feature four USMNT players, with Yunus Musah lining up for Milan and Weston McKennie and Tim Weah featuring for the Bianconeri.

Watch Lalas on Pulisic’s AC Milan situation