Alan Pulido pledges future to Sporting Kansas City following injury-hit 2022
By Chris Smith
Sporting Kansas City striker Alan Pulido has confirmed he'll be back at the club next year following an injury-ravaged 2022 MLS season.
Pulido hasn't featured at all for SKC this campaign after suffering a knee injury back in January, while the 20-time Mexico international has played just 33 of 89 games he's been eligible for since joining the club in 2020.
Now 31 years old, Pulido is about to enter the final year of his contract, naturally leading to speculation regarding his future. However, the striker still remains fully committed to helping SKC bounce back after a disappointing season.
"I have a contract and I’m very happy here," Pulido responded when asked about his future at a midweek press conference. "I’m very focused on Sporting, I want to score a lot of goals and help the team get to first place.”
On getting back fully fit, he added: “I want to play every match next year because I lost this year. That’s my main focus.”
In the absence of Pulido and fellow injured forward Gadi Kinda, SKC brought in Nigerian striker William Agada and German winger Erik Thommy. The former has made an excellent start to life at Children's Mercy Park, scoring eight goals and providing two assists in 11 appearances. The latter, meanwhile, has scored three goals in 11 games and has been on the losing side just three times.
Between them, Agada and Thommy have helped SKC to a run of seven games unbeaten heading into the final day of the MLS season. The Playoffs are already out of reach but promise for 2023 is now high.
It'd be easy for Pulido to be intimidated by such competition but, in fact, the Mexican is excited by the battle he faces.
“I’m very grateful to play on a team with talented players and high-level competition," Pulido said.
"Competition brings out the best in me and everyone. We’ll have an even better season, I’ll continue to fight for my spot.”
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