Dortmund plan to reward Liverpool target Christian Pulisic with new contract

November 10, 2016
Jack Lusby

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has revealed the club are planning to give breakout star Christian Pulisic a new contract.

Pulisic was the subject of a failed £11 million bid from Liverpool at the end of the summer transfer window, with Reds manager Jurgen Klopp believed to be weighing up a renewed offer in the future.

However, Pulisic has enjoyed an excellent campaign with Dortmund so far, scoring twice and laying on six assists in 12 appearances in all competitions.

Quickly establishing himself in the Bundesliga at 18, Pulisic is one of Europe’s most promising young talents, and is being hailed as the USMNT’s greatest-ever player in the making.

Pulisic’s current Dortmund contract runs until 2019, but speaking to Sports Illustrated, Zorc says the club are planning to reward his fine form with a new deal.

“There have been some offers for him in the summer window from England and from German clubs,” he said.

“But we would like to have him here and develop him here. We didn’t educate him to sell him.

“We have a long-running contract until 2019, but because of his development the club is ready to speak to him to prolong his contract at any time.”

This would be a blow to Klopp, who is in the market for a new winger this January, with Danny Ings injured for the rest of the season and Sadio Mane set for the Africa Cup of Nations.

A return for Pulisic would have represented an ambitious move, but with the teenager’s current wage of Dortmund reflecting the average for his age, and not his squad status, there was an element of possibility.

But if Pulisic commits his future to Dortmund—as is likely, given his key role under Thomas Tuchel this season—Klopp would be forced to look elsewhere.

FC Rostov forward Sardar Azmoun is on the 49-year-old’s radar, but has little experience of playing in a wide role, instead at his best as a centre-forward.

Identifying an alternative replacement for Mane is a priority for the German in the transfer window, and it may require he and sporting director Michael Edwards getting creative.