Frank Lampard insists he never doubted Christian Pulisic after Red Bull Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch claimed the Chelsea head coach did not rate the American because of his nationality.
Chelsea completed a £57.6m deal to sign Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019 while Maurizio Sarri was in charge of the club, but the USA international did not move to Stamford Bridge until the summer of that year when Lampard had replaced Sarri.
Earlier this month, Marsch claimed Lampard doubted Pulisic’s ability to make an instant impact at Chelsea because he was American.
However, Lampard believes Marsch recalled a conversation between the pair last year incorrectly and praised Pulisic for enjoying a “breakthrough” season at the club, report SkySport.
“I did read the comments and I was surprised that he had managed to read my mind as well as he thought he did,” Chelsea boss Lampard said in a press conference on Thursday.
“He has recounted the conversation wrong and I have to put it correct. It was a game against Salzburg in pre-season and Christian scored two goals. Jesse came up to me and we spoke about Christian. He said he was a talented player and I agreed with him and we spoke about how exciting his development will be.
“That was the conversation. Jesse managed to put it across slightly differently. I played in America for 18 months and I would never underestimate the desire that American players have to learn and to improve. Christian has that desire and talent also so it was never in doubt for me.
“I understand the rigours of the Premier League. It’s clearly the toughest league in the world and it’s not just Christian who would have felt that, but some of the greatest players in history have.
“What Christian did was find his feet very quickly and have a breakthrough season with lots of goals and assists. His performances were massively impressive and he will get better and better. I never doubted that.
“I’m not jumping on Jesse but as a manager I never doubted Christian and it’s important for me to put that straight.”