These stories are samples pulled from external media sources. They do not represent the views or position of Chelsea Football Club.

Berhalter feels Pulisic is at right club

According to the Mirror, United States head coach Greg Berhalter believes Christian Pulisic is in the right place at Chelsea, working under a manager who has done well with young players.

Berhalter was in Amsterdam to watch Chelsea’s Champions League match against Ajax on Wednesday and gave his strong backing to the 21-year-old and his club when speaking to the media.

‘There’s a lot of pressure that he’s under,’ said Berhalter of Pulisic. ‘He’s at a big club. What I really like about where he is right now is that there’s a lot of young players.

‘There’s a manager (Frank Lampard) who is a manager who is used to working with young players, has that philosophy to want to build this club with this group of talent and he fits perfectly into that mould.’

Berhalter believes Lampard has done a good job in his handling of Pulisic, who is carrying a huge weight of expectation in his homeland after his high-profile move from Borussia Dortmund.

‘I think Frank Lampard has been trying to say: the outside stuff is not real, it’s really not – when you analyse the transfer fee, when you analyse who he’s replacing, when you analyse he’s the only guy they bought,’ Berhalter added.

‘That’s not real. What’s real is this kid is in the Premier League, trying to make his name, trying to perform. That’s the only thing that counts.

‘And let’s not forget that he’s not the only player in the world who has had a challenge adapting at the beginning of a move. Look at [Antoine] Griezmann in Barcelona, [Eden] Hazard in Real Madrid.

‘Because he was their only transfer this year, a lot of attention is placed on him.’

Ajax fans have new respect for Chelsea

A prominent Dutch journalist has told TalkSport that Ajax supporters have a new-found respect for Chelsea due to the focus on the Academy graduates since Lampard’s appointment.

The Dutch club have a strong tradition for developing home-grown talent and according to De Telegraaf’s Marcel van der Kraan, their fans hold the Blues in higher regard after seeing us give our own youth players an opportunity to play in the 1-0 win in Amsterdam this week.

‘Everybody was convinced there was a 70 per cent chance that, at home in Amsterdam, Chelsea could be beaten,’ said Van der Kraan after watching the match.

‘But at half-time every fan I spoke to realised it was a really difficult opponent for them.

‘In the past, they had all the big names Roman Abramovich used to buy for Chelsea. But now, the style Chelsea have with their own youngsters, their own Academy boys, was something different.

‘I think the respect after the game was maybe three-times as much, because Chelsea are doing it now with their own style.

‘All credit to Lampard and the club for doing it this way, because this is something that was always the blueprint for Ajax and now suddenly Chelsea have this magic of their own young stars.’

Blues reportedly eyeing new striker

The Sun is reporting Chelsea will look to sign a new striker in January if the transfer ban is lifted, with Callum Wilson (pictured below) and Timo Werner listed as the club’s main targets.

According to the paper, the club is ‘confident their transfer ban will be lifted and are preparing to sign players in January’.

‘Frank Lampard has made a back-up striker to Tammy Abraham his top target, with Bournemouth star Callum Wilson and RB Leipzig hitman Timo Werner both on the club’s radar,’ the report adds.

The club is currently prevented from signing new players until next summer’s transfer windows but is appealing against the FIFA ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.