While the Premier League headlines were grabbed by a new wave of youngsters last season such as Marcus Rashford, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Alex Iwobi, over in Germany a player younger than all of them has been turning heads with his performances for one of the biggest teams in Europe.
Liverpool have now reportedly made an £11m bid to bring him in as uncertainty surrounding his future has become an issue following a string of summer signings in Dortmund.
Liverpool have made an £11m offer for Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund's 17-year-old winger.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) August 26, 2016
But who is Christian Pulisic?
At 17 years of age and hailing from Hershey, Pennsylvania (yes, that's where they make the chocolate), Christian Pulisic has broken records since being drafted into the Borussia Dortmund first team squad back in January, and looks to have all the tools to become the major star that US soccer has been crying out for.
The hype has been steadily building Stateside ever since he was plucked by the German giants from the Pennsylvania selection team, but after he made his debut in the Bundesliga he was called straight up to the senior international side by Jurgen Klinsmann and handed his full international debut in a World Cup qualifier, a 4-0 win over Guatemala at the end of March.
He was first signed by Dortmund in January of 2015 at 16 years of age and within a year, following 10 goals and 8 assists in the Dortmund youth teams, he was called into the first team, and since then he has done the following:
-Made his Bundesliga debut in a 2–0 win against FC Ingolstadt 04 on January 30.
-Made his Europa League debut in a 2-0 win against FC Porto on February 18.
-Made his first Bundesliga vs Bayer Leverkusen on February 21.
-Scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3-0 win against Hamburg on April 17, becoming the youngest non-German and fourth-youngest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga.
-Scored against Stuttgart on April 23, becoming the youngest player ever to score two goals in the top flight of German football.
As Landon Donovan pointed out, that's quite a big deal for a kid from America...
At 17 years old, @cpulisic_10 already has more all-time @Bundesliga_EN goals (1) than me and @TaylorTwellman combined ???
— Landon Donovan (@landondonovan) April 18, 2016
But is he actually any good?
Yes, yes he is. Liverpool fans will have been given a very brief glimpse of his abilities when he appeared as a substitute for Aubameyang in the first-leg of that unforgettable Europa League tie, and Spurs fans would have seen him make an appearance at White Hart Lane, but the manner in which he has taken his two Bundesliga goals suggest that he has both talent and composure far beyond his years. Such as this casual one-two with Mats Hummels.
And this goal scored weeks later:
His best position looks to be as an attacking midfielder, but he has played as a striker for the USA underage teams, which explains his excellent scoring record of 20 goals in 34 games for the USA U17 side.
The comparisons to Freddy Adu have unfortunately been made already, despite Pulisic already achieving far more than the Football Manager wonderkid ever could, but there does appear to be a clear effort in the American media to not overdo the hype this time out. The fact that he totally bypassed the US collegiate system and thus, the MLS, is not likely to go down well with those who want to see the league continue to grow in the US, but there is hope that Pulisic can go on and achieve great things in the game.
He himself, thankfully, appears to have his feet firmly on the ground. Speaking after breaking the Bundesliga record for younger players to score two league goals, he said the following to ESPN:
It's definitely an amazing feeling to score again. I don't think I started the best and had the best first half, but then you get the goal and your confidence rises.
Just to get three wins [has been my goal lately], and just do whatever I can to help the team -- whether it's playing, whether it's being support on the bench, I am going to do whatever I can. I am really excited.
He's not the only one. With young players beginning to make a name for themselves in the academies of some of Europe's biggest clubs like Arsenal and Bayern Munich, this could be the start of the "golden age" of US soccer that many have been predicting for some time.
