'I've actually been surprised' - USMNT star Christian Pulisic reveals why AC Milan move has been a 'great test' after transfer from Chelsea

The USMNT international swapped Premier League side Chelsea for Milan last July in a relatively modest £17 million ($21.15m)move. Since then, he has had his most successful season to date, scoring 13 goals and bagging eight assists in 45 appearances - 39 of which have been starts. Now, the 25-year-old has spoken about how Italian football has been a "great test" for him and how playing for the Rossoneri has helped his game.

He told ESPN: "I’ve actually been surprised with how difficult a lot of the games are in this league. I think it’s been a great test for me.

“I think a lot of that [success] comes down to just being given the opportunities here. I’ve had a lot of time on the field to show what I can do and have been given a creative role and a lot of freedom as well at times, which has been a huge part of getting that self-belief back and growing that confidence.”

There was quite a bit of fanfare and excitement when Chelsea signed Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in 2019 for £58 million ($72m) but the fact he left for less than three times that amount shows something went wrong for him at Stamford Bridge. While some will claim Serie A is of a lesser quality to the Premier League, Pulisic is clearly thrilled to be at Milan and playing regular football again.

Pulisic's Milan side, who sit second in Serie A behind newly-crowned champions and bitter rivals Inter, are away to Juventus on Saturday evening as they seek to bounce back from a damaging derby defeat.