The Reds have reportedly lodged an £11 million bid for the 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund and US national team attacker.
Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has told ESPN FC that he cannot see Borussia Dortmund youngster Christian Pulisic accepting a move to Anfield unless he is guaranteed playing time.
Pulisic, 17, became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to record two goals when he scored in back-to-back games last April, just a few months after making his first-team debut for Dortmund.
The highly-rated attacker, who officially joined the German club in February 2015 during Jurgen Klopp’s time in charge, has so far made 12 total appearances for Thomas Tuchel’s side and is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in European football.
He has also already earned six senior USA caps since March and became the team’s youngest-ever scorer in May when he found the back of the net in a 4-0 friendly win over Bolivia, before going on to feature three times off the bench during their run to the Copa America Centenario semi-finals.
However, despite Pulisic’s promise, Dortmund made the decision to bring in a host of attacking options over the summer in Andre Schurrle, Mario Gotze, Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor, throwing the teenager’s future at the Westfalenstadion into some doubt.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, the US international turned down a new contract offer earlier this year, and while he still has two years remaining on his current deal, there is reportedly a 50-50 chance he could be loaned out or sold before next week’s transfer deadline.
The likes of Stoke City, CSKA Moscow and Red Bull Leipzig have been linked with his signature in recent days [h/t Bild], while the latest reports have claimed that Liverpool have lodged an £11 million bid [h/t Telegraph].
The Daily Mail previously reported back in April that Klopp had ordered his scouts to keep a close eye on the American wonderkid, but it is believed that he faces a difficult task convincing his former club to do business.
Regardless, though, with Pulisis currently best suited to playing out wide, Nicol does not believe that a reunion with his old manager would make much sense at this point when the Red boss has the likes of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana all at his disposal.
“If I’m Pulisic, I’m only going to move if I’m going to play,” the former Anfield favourite told ESPN FC. “If he goes to Liverpool who’s he going to be ahead of? They’ve got Mane and Coutinho on either side, and there’s talk this week that Klopp wants Sturridge to play wide.
“So why is Pulisic going to move to a place like Liverpool, or even Stoke, to sit on the bench? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
In the meantime, Klopp has refused to be drawn on the reports linking Pulisic with a possible move to Anfield.
The 49-year-old German was asked about his alleged interest in the promising American following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, but he was keeping tight-lipped over his transfer plans in general ahead of the upcoming deadline.
“No transfer rumors. I have no comment for this,” he told ProSoccerTalk. “Absolutely nothing to speak about. That’s for all the other cases too.
“When we know something and when we are close to doing something then we will inform you… or a little bit later.”
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