Liverpool target Christian Pulisic has extraordinary talents

Sportsmail takes a closer look at the teenager creating so much excitement in boardrooms around Europe.

Who is Christian Pulisic?

A major 18-year-old talent from Borussia Dortmund. This is his breakthrough season, scoring twice in 14 appearances, and playing the full 90 minutes of the epic 8-4 Champions League win against Legia Warsaw.

Is he German? Pulisic sounds like it could be Serbian

Neither. Pulisic is American, born in Hershey, Pennsylvania and became the youngest ever American international to play in a World Cup qualifier when Jurgen Klinsmann handed him a debut in March 2016 aged 17 years, 193 days.

What is it that Liverpool and other big clubs like?

He's as quick and direct as you'd expect from a natural winger, but unlike a lot of wide men he's also technically very good and has end product in terms of assists and goals.

He's already scored four senior goals for Dortmund since making his debut in January and only turned 18 in September. He is the youngest ever overseas player to score in the Bundesliga.

He can run, dribble and flick, and of course, being a winger, he's got a decent nutmeg in his locker.

Will success go to his head?

The early signs are promising. "I'm no different than any other average kid" says football's newest wonderboy, who lists watching Netflix and playing FIFA and NHL as his hobbies away from the game.

His former national team manager Klinsmann believes playing in Germany will help him keep his feet on the ground.

"The fact that Dortmund is a very intense environment is helpful because they put him in line right away," he says.

How did Pulisic end up in Germany

His father played professional indoor soccer in America and realised early on his son had special ability. Young Christian travelled to Europe and trained with Chelsea, Barcelona, Porto, Villarreal and PSV.

Dortmund watched him play in a 2013 Nike junior tournament in which Pulisic helped USA beat Brazil 4-1 and later won the competition's MVP.

They invited him over for a trial and liked what they saw. As for Pulisic, he said: "It was too good an opportunity to turn down."

Will Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund connections help him get the player?

They won't do any harm. Klopp, whose time at Dortmund briefly overlapped with Pulisic, heard about the American's stunning progress early and despatched Liverpool scouts as early as April to keep an eye on how he was doing.

There were reports an £11million bid had been tabled last summer and with Philippe Coutinho and Danny Ings injured, they may go in bigger and bolder in January.

Dortmund, who have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, may have something to say about that however.

Will he turn out to be another Freddie Adu?

Unlikely. Adu was hyped at 14 appearing on major US chat shows before sinking without trace when he came to Europe.

Pulisic has already played a number of important first-team matches with stars like Matts Hummels and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He has a clever coach Thomas Tuchel overseeing his development and his injury-time equaliser this season against Ingolstadt suggests he has the temperament to handle big moments in matches.

"He has our trust," says Tuchel, who has recently stopped using Pulisic as a super-sub and started him in big games.

Source: MailOnline

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