ST. LOUIS — Before making his splashy debut for AC Milan, before scoring in consecutive matches to help I Rossoneri (the Red and Blacks) begin the Serie A soccer campaign in perfect form, Christian Pulisic needed to navigate Italy’s late-summer siesta known as Ferragosto.

August, he quickly learned, is not the time to try getting things done in Italy, where shops close and beach crowds swell.

“I’m moving into an apartment, and everyone tells me: ‘Oh, no one works during this time. Everyone’s on holiday,'” he said, laughing. “I’ve got to get things done. I don’t have WiFi at the house. I don’t have this and that. They’re like, ‘Give it two weeks.’ To me, I don’t have two weeks.”

After what Pulisic called “a lot of convincing,” things on the personal front fell into place. He settled into his home. He’s loving the food, culture and abundant sunshine. He understands some Italian, though “learning to speak, it’ll take some time,” he said.

The adaptation comes as Pulisic’s professional life undertakes a blissful renewal. Rebounding from a quiet end to his four-year tenure with Chelsea in the English Premier League, the U.S. men’s national team star is a full-time starter and instant fan favorite at AC Milan, one of European soccer’s most famous clubs.

Pulisic scored 21 minutes into the league opener at Bologna on Aug. 21 and scored a first-half goal against Torino in his San Siro stadium debut five days later. Last Friday, only a spectacular save by Roma’s Rui Patricio prevented him from notching another early goal. Combined with his preseason production, Pulisic was named AC Milan’s MVP for August.

“It’s been just getting this fresh start,” the 24-year-old said in an interview with The Washington Post on Thursday. “I’m excited to go out and play, and I’ve had an opportunity to get a lot of minutes and do what I can do. I’m happy it shows on the field.”

It’s a far cry from last season in England, where he started eight of 38 league matches, entered as a sub 16 times and scored once for a 12th-place team, Chelsea’s worst finish in 29 years.

Pulisic needed a new employer – badly. In July, AC Milan paid a $24 million transfer fee, a third of the U.S.-record fee Chelsea shelled out to Borussia Dortmund in 2019 for Pulisic.

“It was the right time for me to get out of my old club,” he said. “I had great experiences at Chelsea. I don’t have anything bad to say about it. I am just really happy with where I’m at now. I’m definitely enjoying it a lot more.”

Sometimes a change of scenery and feeling wanted do wonders.

“There is always a point in time in players’ careers where things aren’t going the way you want it to go or how you picture it will go,” said U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie, who plays for Juventus, another Serie A titan. “He just seems to be having more fun (at U.S. camp this week). He is more fluid. He seems more confident in the decisions he is making. . . . He is pulling off moves I haven’t seen in a long time.”

Pulisic reported to the U.S. team this week for the first time since his move to Milan. The Americans will play friendlies against Uzbekistan on Saturday in St. Louis and Oman on Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is then expected to return next month for elevated tests against Germany in East Hartford, Connecticut, and Ghana in Nashville.

Pulisic’s resurgence comes as the U.S. squad is building toward the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Each received an automatic berth in the tournament, which will feature a record 48 teams.

Already one of the most accomplished players in program history – and a goal scorer against Iran at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – Pulisic will be just 27 when the 2026 tournament comes around.

He, McKennie and the injured Tyler Adams are among several key figures from a young 2022 squad that advanced to the round of 16 against the Netherlands and is angling for a deeper run in 2026.

“We’ve made so much progress in recent years, going to that World Cup, being dominant within Concacaf, winning a lot of these (regional) tournaments,” Pulisic said. “It’s been fun, and now the next step is competing and trying to be one of the top teams in the world.”

To get there, Gregg Berhalter, who has begun his second term as U.S. coach, will need to get the most out of his experienced and talented charges. Pulisic’s sustained success at AC Milan would buoy the greater cause.

“You can see his confidence is very high,” Berhalter said last week. “He feels valued in his environment. And those are two key components to performing well.”

And, Berhalter added, Pulisic “happens to be going from a big club to a big club.” Often, players who fall out of favor at big clubs must move to smaller clubs or lesser leagues to play regularly.

Milan is not only a big club competing in one of Europe’s top domestic leagues but also qualified for the UEFA Champions League, the continent’s ultimate testing grounds. (Chelsea did not qualify.) Group play for Milan will begin Sept. 19 in a quartet with Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund.

The hope and belief in U.S. circles is that Pulisic’s rejuvenated club career will parlay into a more influential presence with the national team.

“A lot of times, coming into camp before, maybe it was when I wasn’t getting a lot of minutes” for Chelsea, Pulisic said. Playing regularly “just gives you that added benefit of being fit, playing games, feeling confident. It allows you to come in and pick up where you left off at your club.”

Moving to Milan, he added, is “definitely a positive thing for me.”

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