LIFE IS SWEET Why the boy from Chocolate Town was destined to be a star on the world stage

The inside track on

Steve Bates HE COMES from Chocolate Town, but American star Christian Pulisic is the new flavour of the moment in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Hershey are America’s most famous chocolate manufacturer, making the tiny East Coast town – population 12,000 – renowned across the USA, the stars and stripes version of Cadbury’s and nicknamed the Sweetest Place on Earth.

But new Chelsea signing Pulisic isn’t far behind in popularity after becoming America’s biggest ever Premier League star.

His £ 58million move from Borussia Dortmund to Stamford Bridge has captured t he imagination of football fans in the US. But the 20-year-old’s rise to fame and a mega-money move to Chelsea comes as no surprise to the man who started the winger on the road to stardom.

Steve Klein, coach at local junior club Pennsylvania Classics, knew from the outset that even as a six-yearold Pulisic had the desire to succeed.

“I don’t know if you’d say he was introverted but when he first came here aged six he was a bit on the quiet side,” recalls Klein.

“He was more about being focused, even at a young age he was focused on wanting to make it as a soccer player, which is unusual for a kid.

WBut once you were around him and with him on a personal level he was definitely a very fun kid – he liked to joke around and play table tennis.

“We always knew early on he was going to be a special player, but to be honest you never know how special someone will be.

“At a younger age, probably from the age of six, he had very good vision and at eight and nine you could see he was going to be a very

We always l knew he was going to be a special player, he had good vision from the age of eight

good player.

“And I would say once he was 13 or 14 then you thought ‘this kid has what it takes to be a great pro’.” Chelsea aren’t just getting a top footballer in Pulisic. They’re getting an intelligent, driven, ambitious athlete who sets his targets – and reaches them.

Dave Yingst, his maths teacher at Hershey Middle School, says: “I just taught him algebra. But if you had a class full of Christians