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Football

28th Jul 2018

Liverpool and Chelsea both interested in signing Borussia Dortmund teen sensation

He would suit both teams extremely well, but he won't come cheaply

Reuben Pinder

He would add a lot to both teams

He has been touted as one of the brightest talents in Europe, and with only one year left on his contract with Borussia Dortmund, Europe’s elite are sniffing around Christian Pulisic.

The American winger is still only 19 but has 70 league appearances for Dortmund under his belt, scoring 9 goals.

According to German newspaper Bild, Dortmund are willing to listen to offers of around €70m for Pulisic, and both Liverpool and Chelsea are interested in signing the player.

The report states that he is Chelsea’s top priority, but further down Liverpool’s shopping list after they signed Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke as back up to Mo Salah and Sadio Mané.

Chelsea are in the market for a winger as they prepare to lose Willian, while Eden Hazard looks set to stay put. Under new coach Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea will play an intense, possession based style of football and require fast wingers to stretch opposition defences.

Pulisic very much fits that profile and would, in theory, slot in on the right hand side seamlessly.

Chelsea have also loosely been linked with 25-year-old Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace, who would cost a similar amount of money, though he has four years left on his contract with Palace, who are desperate to keep hold of their talisman.

Should he leave for the Premier League, it would be the second consecutive summer that Dortmund have sold a young winger for big money, after selling Ousmane Dembélé to Barcelona last summer. It is part of their model of buying low and selling high to ensure the long-term financial health of the club, and their excellent scouting network has allowed that model to be successful.

Just under two weeks remain in the transfer window, after Premier League clubs agreed for it to be closed before the new season starts. Expect a manic end to the window as clubs try to wrap up their final pieces of business.