Pulisic Reveals Love of English Game

Every club needs its transfer sagas. A player that there may or may not be interest in, and that may or may not make sense, that rumour mongers can go back to time and again when there's a dearth of actual news to report. Sometimes they last for a single window, as with Mario Götze in the summer of 2016; sometimes for a decade, as Arda Turan can attest to. Sometimes they come to fruition - say hi, Christian Benteke - but mostly, they drag on and on and never transpire, which is why Liverpool fans still are, and forever will be, waiting on Christan Tello.

Which category Christian Pulisic eventually falls into is impossible to know at this point, but Liverpool's interest in the Dortmund starlet is most definitely entering saga territory. It's a rumour that made sense on several levels when it first popped up in April this year; he was brought to the German club while Klopp was still the manager, and it has been assumed since they first took over at Liverpool that FSG are looking to bring in an American name they can use to market the Reds back home. That the 18-year old is supremely gifted at the football does nothing to dampen enthusiasm about his potential arrival.

So when Liverpool saw an £11m bid rejected this summer, there was little surprise they had made a move, and the assumption was that they'd come back with a renewed offer in the January transfer window. With that a mere two months away, it is time to take anything and everything coming out of either camp as a hint that the move is happening. Cue Pulisic talking about his time in English football, i.e. that year he spent at Brackley Town a decade ago:

“It’s a big reason [for] where I am today.

“A lot of people don’t realise but it really brought on my passion for the game. After school every day, I was just out for hours in the park, playing with my schoolmates.

“That’s really where my love for the game started to come alive and that was a big part of my development.

“There were so many players that just showed so much skill and confidence in their games. I just loved the English style.

“I thought [before] it was just for fun.

“I just started to love it so much and I said: ‘Wow. I’m pretty good! I think I can do something with this game’.”

As you'll notice, this is less Pulisic to Liverpool confirmed! and more kid went abroad once and enjoyed it, but don't think that'll stop us from drawing conclusions about dropped hints and secret meetings and tapping-up by way of dad hugs from big German goofs. In the end, Liverpool's interest in what is increasingly looking like a proper prospect is known to be genuine, and there is a solid chance they will be attempting to lure him across the channel, either in January or next summer, but the reveal that he once spent a year in England and thought it was cool won't be what makes or breaks the deal.