Published 10:53 IST, June 27th 2020
Christian Pulisic was targeted by Liverpool before Jurgen Klopp opted for Xherdan Shaqiri
Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic was a Liverpool transfer target during the 2018 summer before Jurgen Klopp opted to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Christian Pulisic gave his former Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp a reason to cheer as Chelsea defeated Manchester City 2-1 to help Liverpool win the Premier League title for the first time in 30 years. Pulisic's solo goal was easily the pick of the Chelsea vs Man City highlights and the USMNT star was a constant threat to Pep Guardiola's side. The 21-year-old delivered the title to his former boss and things could have been different had Jurgen Klopp and Pulisic decided to re-unite before the winger's move to Chelsea.
Chelsea vs Man City highlights: Jurgen Klopp preferred signing Xherdan Shaqiri over Christian Pulisic
In the summer of 2018, Christian Pulisic was a transfer target for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, while the winger was still at Borussia Dortmund. The Reds tried bringing Christian Pulisic onboard multiple times and had an £11 million bid for the winger rejected in 2016 when Pulisic was just 17. As the years passed by, Liverpool also passed on the chance to bring the Dortmund star on board, with The Times suggesting that Klopp did not think the 21-year-old’s stats justified a summer bid.
Christian Pulisic had scored four goals and created a further five in 32 Bundesliga matches during the 2017/18 season and the former Dortmund boss was unwilling to fork out a substantial amount of money for the winger.
Instead, Klopp signed Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City for a £13.5 million bargain. Shaqiri has been far from regular at Anfield and his persistent injury issues mean that the likes of Divock Origi have jumped ahead of him in the pecking order. Meanwhile, Chelsea signed Christian Pulisic for £58 million in January 2019 and his goal against Manchester City on Thursday is perhaps a bigger contribution to Liverpool than Shaqiri has provided thus far.
Chelsea vs Man City highlights: Christian Pulisic remains indebted to Jurgen Klopp
While the USMNT star never played for Jurgen Klopp's senior side, Christian Pulisic joined his Dortmund side as a 16-year-old in 2015, shortly before the German coach left for Liverpool. Speaking about his time at Dortmund on the 13&Me podcast, the USMNT star said that he remains thankful to Klopp, who gave him the opportunity to train with the first team and how it changed his career. Christian Pulisic reveals that he was a 16-year-old going to training with the likes of star players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marco Reus, Matts Hummels and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Christian Pulisic added that he always that of doing his best and is really grateful for that opportunity, remembering it forever.
(Image Courtesy: Black Yellow, Chelsea Twitter)
Updated 10:53 IST, June 27th 2020