By Louis Ó hOisin
19-year-old Christian Pulisic has already made his breakthrough into the regular Borussia Dortmund starting 11.
He scored five goals and bagged seven assists last season for BVB, living up to his nickname ‘Captain America’.
He can play on either wing or as an attacking midfielder. He’s hailed as one of the top dribblers in the Bundesliga and is attracting interest from huge, huge teams:
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Manchester United
- Liverpool
- Chelsea
He’s currently valued in the region of €60 million by Dortmund potentially more.
So why do Tottenham lead the race?
Well, currently, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is diving into deals with the NFL and, from next season, two NFL season matches per year will be played at White Hart Lane, Europe’s first NFL base.
Pennsylvanian-born Pulisic would seem to be a very valuable asset to someone like Daniel Levy at the moment from a business point of view. At just 19 years old, Pulisic was named American player of the year in 2017 and more importantly was named third top selling shirt name after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
If Daniel Levy wants to target the American market, which it looks like he is doing with the NFL deals, then Pulisic may attract support from a lot of Americans.
Teams Like Chelsea and United have also expressed interest but neither have a history with the player like Jurgen Klopp does. Klopp watched over Pulisic as he quickly rose through the Dortmund academy. He had high praise for the youngster at Dortmund saying he was a ‘great player’ and that he showed ‘real signs of quality’.
The year after Klopp left in the 15-16 season, Pulisic was called up to the first team at the age of 17. That April, he became the youngest foreigner to score in the Bundesliga and the youngest Bundesliga player ever to score two goals in a season.
Liverpool over the past few seasons have already had two bids for the playmaker rejected so it’s going to take some work to get him out of Dortmund.
