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Sport

29th May 2016

Forget Freddy Adu, there’s a new American wonderkid in town

Remember the name... Christian Pulisic

Tom Victor

Football fans in the United States have been known to jump the gun when it comes to getting behind young American talents.

We all remember the hype train that followed Freddy Adu after the Ghana-born attacking midfielder signed his first professional contract at the age of 14.

It didn’t work out quite as planned for Adu, while Julian Green – a much-lauded World Cup goalscorer for the US at the age of 19 – has yet to score a Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich or Hamburg.

The latest teen sensation to come in for praise is Christian Pulisic, but the Dortmund youngster may well be the real deal.

Guatemala v United States - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifer

Aged just 17, Pulisic has already begun to make his mark on the Borussia Dortmund first team.

Fans got a tad overexcited when he made his Bundesliga bow for BVB, but two goals in nine league games so far is not to be sniffed at.

And when the youngster scored his first ever international goal in the Copa America warm-up victory over Bolivia, the reaction was that mix of pride and hype which only American sports fans can produce.

When Marcus Rashford scored on his England debut, there was plenty of excitement.

But it’s somehow different when an American is involved, though, and we didn’t just have American fans singing his praises.

There’s always room for improvement, though.