General LFC Transfer rumours/gossip thread

I just saw some Dortmund fan giving his analysis on Pulisic from his own perspective.
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Going by the look of it, can't help but think Pulisic is just a case of over hype. Anyways, I haven't even seen him play even once, so I don't have any of my own opinion on him

Decided to read some Dortmund forums, and they are pretty savage on Pulisic. A lot don't even rate him as highly as some here and are happy to sell him.

Anyway, I am still hoping Klopp is still interested in Brandt, he can really play and is quick too!

I just saw some Dortmund fan giving his analysis on Pulisic from his own perspective.

Christian Pulisic, TRUE or FALSE?
 

Pulisic creates lots of chances that are squandered by teammates. FALSE.
Over the length of his Dortmund career, Christian Pulisic has a higher A/90 than xA/90 indicating his teammates more or less finish what they should be expected to. On the other hand, Pulisic has a lower G/90 than xG/90 indicating Pulisic squanders more scoring chances than he should. It's patently false that his teammates have made Pulisic look bad.
 

Pulisic is slumping this season but was one of our best players last season. FALSE.
Shinji Kagawa, Andriy Yarmolenko, Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Maximilian Philipp were all superior performers in the second line behind Aubameyang/Batshuayi. Pulisic was marginally better than Andre Schurrle, but given how pitiable Schurrle's season was, that's not saying much.
 

Pulisic was so good he was a first choice starter for Dortmund. FALSE.
Pulisic did in fact, start the majority of games last season. But let's put that situation into context. Pulisic started the majority of games last season because we suffered a severe injury crisis. Marco Reus began the season in the physio room, and did not make his comeback until half the season had already gone. Maximillian Philipp, Andriy Yarmolenko, Raphael Guerreiro, Shinji Kagawa all lost several months to injury. Peter Bosz preferred not to take chances on a then unknown quantity in Jadon Sancho, who only really got his first team shot after Bosz was sacked. Christian Pulisic started the majority of games by virtue of being our one and only winger who did not have a major injury all season. This season, with Sancho, Bruun-Larsen and Guerreiro available, Pulisic has seen his minutes drastically reduced. That despite Reus shifting central at Kagawa's expense, Gotze converting to centerforward, Wolf suffering an injury, and Philipp in terrible form. Truth be told, Pulisic has never been first choice in any of his seasons here. In 15/16 he was wholly peripheral, in 16/17 he was behind Dembele, in 17/18 every other winger was long term injured, and in 18/19 he is competing for 3rd choice. Despite starting as many games as he did last season, in r/borussiadortmund post-season polling for 17/18, Pulisic came up 9th in player ratings (6.73/10), and collected just 1.5% of the POTS vote.
 

Pulisic has been one of Dortmund's key attacking players the past few seasons. FALSE.
In 15/16 the key attacking players were the so-dubbed "fantastic four" quadrumvirate of Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Reus and Kagawa. In 16/17 it was Aubameyang, Dembele, Reus and Kagawa. In 17/18 the key attacking players were Kagawa, Aubameyang, Yarmolenko, Philipp in the first half, Kagawa, Batshuayi, Reus, Sancho in the second half. In 18/19 our key attacking players are Paco, Reus, Sancho, Hakimi. Pulisic has never been a player the system revolved around, which is why you don't see Dortmund fans panicking and distraught at the idea of losing Pulisic like we were about losing Kagawa, Gotze, Mkhitaryan, Dembele etc. Pulisic has his strengths and uses, but he has always been a plus alpha. A force multiplier. We've never been reliant on him.
 

Pulisic's struggles were caused by being played as a wingback. FALSE.
When Pulisic played wide of midfield in a 343, he still played as a winger, with the right CB or one of the defensive midfield covering the rightback area. It was more of a patchwork solution to fit both Dembele and Pulisic on the pitch at the same time. Pulisic hardly played defensively in those games, which were few and far between in any case.
 

Pulisic is not that good and is only overhyped because he is American.
This statement, is also FALSE. Although circumstances played to his favor, he did not rack up 115 appearances 6,800 minutes with Dortmund's first team, or 14 goals and 24 assists by age 20 by being utter w*nk. He is undoubtedly a good player with a lot going for him. He has a bright future ahead of him, and could very well go on to be the best American field player since Clint Dempsey. Though he was overshadowed by Dembele in 16/17, he did in fact have a good season and was a very promising teenager at the time.

So exactly what kind of player is Pulisic?
1) Pulisic is a winger. He has pace on and off the ball, a fantastic short sprint and a good long sprint. He can take a counter from the edge of our box well into the final third, and keep doing it for 80 minutes. When he is switched on, he will put in a decent defense effort. Contrary to his NT situation, he has been far better wide than central for Dortmund, better on the right than the left. USNT fans argue he should be a "10" but I disagree. Perhaps his long term future lies there, but at present he lacks the goal threat to be a forward type 10 like a Reus or Griezmann, and lacks the decision making and tight space technique to be midfield type 10 like a Kagawa, James or Modric. At the moment at least, he's a winger.
 
2) He is a decent dribbler. While he is no slouch on the technical side of things, he's better at kick and rush style long distance dribbling than tight dribbling. He isn't a close dribbler like Kagawa, who can draw 3-4 players to himself on the ball and wiggle away with one deft turn. He isn't a power dribbler like Reus, who will force his way through a pair of defenders and stay on his feet. But if you punt the ball in front of him and make him contest a SB he'll often kick and go past the defender as if he weren't there. He's far better dribbling at pace than dribbling from a dead start. He loves to take on players, sometimes a bit too much, and can be single minded about it. When well matched he's on song, a hot knife through butter. When outclassed he's a deadend repeatedly smashing himself against the same brick wall.
 
3) He is better at creating chances than finishing them. He has a good eye for a defense splitting pass, though his execution is not at the level of a Reus, Sancho or Kagawa. If his final ball improves, he could be far more lethal than he currently is. Quite often he'll spot a good pass or cross, but overcook it, leave it short or time it wrong. He often has the right idea, but the wrong execution.
 
4) His off the ball movement is better in support than spearheading attack. In a group counter situation, more often than not his off the ball runs are intelligent, and can prove highly distracting to defenses. He will get into a good position to be a finishing option at a decent frequency. On the other hand, he could improve on his off the ball runs when the ball is still in midfield. He doesn't make penetrating runs behind often enough, which is a shame because once he's gotten loose is when he's at his best.
 
5) Pulisic is chaos. While Pulisic himself may not score a lot of goals, or assist that many, he does bring a certain tactical value. His relentless attempts may fail more often than not, but he poses a threat that must be contained. That isn't exactly the hardest thing to do, but it does create gaps for other players to exploit. This means he's ineffective when playing with players who themselves pose little threat, but makes life significantly easier for players who do. The fact that he never slows down and always keeps the attacking tempo high, wears down defenses over time.
 
6) No, he is not two-footed or ambidextrous. His left peg isn't non-existent like some players, but he is in fact very much right footed. Any claims to the contrary are flat out false.
 
7) Defender he ain't. While Pulisic never comes up short on hustle, he isn't a good defensive winger. His defensive positioning isn't great and that paired with his penchant to dribble into walls and lose possession does put some measure of strain on his partnering sideback. He isn't lazy though, and will put in a shift.
 
Physically, he is in fantastic shape. A right proper athlete who looks after himself well. Never has weight issues, hasn't put on negative muscle, and has thus far avoided major injury. He rarely takes ill either. Good stamina and general fitness.
 
9) He has a fantastic attitude about the game. Dembele and Mor, arguably Januzaj too were more naturally talented than Pulisic, but had attitude issues that kept them from being all they could be. Pulisic is a head down, chin up kind of guy. He is focused on football and not easily distracted from it, avoiding most of the pitfalls early hype can bring. The one patch where he was very distracted, was after the USA failed to qualify for the World Cup. That hit him hard, as he himself attested to. He has a fantastic in game attitude as well. He does get frustrated and work himself into a rut sometimes, but you'll never see him not trying or not caring. He has a tendency to rise to the occasion, and some of his best shifts have come against bigger opponents, though he has never done memorably well in a derby for some reason.
 
16/17 he was good. Last season he was w*nk, and this season he is peripheral to Sancho. But it's ridiculous to think he's hit his ceiling and this is as good as he will ever be. He is still a U21 mid development, and has the physical, technical, and most importantly the mental attributes to be a very good player. He has admittedly stalled a bit the past season and half, but perhaps a change of scenery, competition, tactics is needed to take him to the next level. Personally, I don't expect him to become an era defining player over the next year or so, but I don't believe he'll be a flash in the pan forgotten by 25 either. No, he won't be Ronaldo or Messi, and probably not Hazard or Reus either. But he might be a Son or Shaqiri level player in a few years. He will have a solid career, here or elsewhere

If this is close to what he's really a player then I think Klopp sign him already.

I’ll put out a left field shout for the summer - Mitrovic at Fulham. I’ve never heard Klopp as complementary about a player as he was with him after we played Fulham earlier in the season. With Sturridge and probably Origi going we’ll be in for a striker and he looks a right handful from what I’ve seen of him

Sorry Brendan we won't be signing any more donkey forwards.

Pulisic under Klopp would flourish but maybe Klopp thinks that ship has sailed. Oh well.

Pulisic under Klopp would flourish but maybe Klopp thinks that ship has sailed. Oh well.

Do you know if Klopp has gone back to a former club to buy a player?

Do you know if Klopp has gone back to a former club to buy a player?

Can’t think of any off the top of my head. I do believe that we tried to get him a couple years back, but I’m assuming at this point Klopp is hesitant to pay the price asked for such a young player that won’t necessarily get a lot of time right away especially when you consider he can get so much out of a Shaqiri for so little outlay.

Pulisic has a lot of potential but for the asking price there are much better players out there.

Sorry Brendan we won't be signing any more donkey forwards.

Have you watched much of Fulham this year? I wouldn’t call him a donkey

Decided to read some Dortmund forums, and they are pretty savage on Pulisic. A lot don't even rate him as highly as some here and are happy to sell him.

Anyway, I am still hoping Klopp is still interested in Brandt, he can really play and is quick too!

Perhaps he needs a move as he has stagnated over the last year or two, first dembele and now sancho have surpased him

Can’t think of any off the top of my head. I do believe that we tried to get him a couple years back, but I’m assuming at this point Klopp is hesitant to pay the price asked for such a young player that won’t necessarily get a lot of time right away especially when you consider he can get so much out of a Shaqiri for so little outlay.

I’m not sure of the source but Klopp explains the question on ex players...

https://thekoptimes.com/2018/11/03/Jürgen-klopp-explains-his-decision-to-not-sign-former-borussia-dortmund-star/

So true. Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho, VVD, Agger - the winter window has not been our friend

Yeah, but then again, Suarez, Coutinho, VVD, and Agger are world class players. I doubt that they'd fail to make an impact anywhere they go. I'm talking about the general idea that you'll buy a player in the winter window and he'll be able to make the same impact as when you buy him in the summer and actually have a full training camp to ease him into the team. Not for nothing that Klopp has avoided the winter window this much. Even VVD was supposed to be a summer signing until this whole thing with Southampton happened.

Yeah, but then again, Suarez, Coutinho, VVD, and Agger are world class players. I doubt that they'd fail to make an impact anywhere they go. I'm talking about the general idea that you'll buy a player in the winter window and he'll be able to make the same impact as when you buy him in the summer and actually have a full training camp to ease him into the team. Not for nothing that Klopp has avoided the winter window this much. Even VVD was supposed to be a summer signing until this whole thing with Southampton happened.

Those players weren’t world class when we bought them

Those players weren’t world class when we bought them

Van Dijk was world class before he joined Southampton.

Those players weren’t world class when we bought them

So 111 goals and 68 assists in 159 appearances at Ajax for Suarez isn't world class? Van Dijk was clearly amongst the best defenders in the league if not the best even while playing at Southampton and despite that his impact this year is much bigger than it was last year despite playing with the same crop of players. Don't you think pre-season (training camp, friendly games, etc) made the difference? 

Also, if a player adapts and explodes at your club in a short period of time it means you gave him a platform to do so, but it's also something not a lot of players can do, especially coming from another league.

So no the winter window is far from the ideal one to do your business in unless its emergency buys or you're stuck in a race with other clubs to get one of your targets. You typically overpay and you don't have the benefit of a player that went through pre-season.

Have you watched much of Fulham this year? I wouldn’t call him a donkey

Why would anyone watch much of Fulham?

So 111 goals and 68 assists in 159 appearances at Ajax for Suarez isn't world class?

How many did Kezman or Alfonso Alves or Jansen get in a poor league ? -  Suarez was a very good player but he hadn’t hit the world class levels until he stepped up to the Prem then La Liga

Van Dijk was clearly amongst the best defenders in the league if not the best even while playing at Southampton and despite that his impact this year is much bigger than it was last year despite playing with the same crop of players. Don't you think pre-season (training camp, friendly games, etc) made the difference? 

Also, if a player adapts and explodes at your club in a short period of time it means you gave him a platform to do so, but it's also something not a lot of players can do, especially coming from another league.

So no the winter window is far from the ideal one to do your business in unless its emergency buys or you're stuck in a race with other clubs to get one of your targets. You typically overpay and you don't have the benefit of a player that went through pre-season.

Over the years many players have looked good in the league playing for smaller clubs - the old saying “big fish little pond” - the true acid test is when the player steps up a level and he still stands out - yes VVD was excellent at Soton but he has gone up a level with us

Good players have and can be bought in Jan - some for very good fees

How many did Kezman or Alfonso Alves or Jansen get in a poor league ? -  Suarez was a very good player but he hadn’t hit the world class levels until he stepped up to the Prem then La Liga

Over the years many players have looked good in the league playing for smaller clubs - the old saying “big fish little pond” - the true acid test is when the player steps up a level and he still stands out - yes VVD was excellent at Soton but he has gone up a level with us

Good players have and can be bought in Jan - some for very good fees

So being super good in a ''poor league'' is not good enough, but being good in a smaller club in a big league is also not good enough? World Class players like Suarez or VVD are noticeable regardless of the club they play for. It is true that stepping to a bigger club is a test, but it's not like scouts go around recommending players based on nothing and we did not pay a world record fee for him based on your ''big fish little pond'' theory.

Also, nobody said you can't buy good players in the winter window. You're missing the point. The point is that its not the ideal window to conduct your transfer business in especially when you are top of the league and the team is doing good unless you are buying some back-up for injured players or you are stuck in a bidding war for a player you consider an important piece of your puzzle in the future. 

Have you watched much of Fulham this year? I wouldn’t call him a donkey

Yes I have he's average always has been always will. He had a few good games early in the season then returned to his typical average self. Looks ok in a crap Fulham team.

We signed Benteke and Lambert when they looked decent in poor teams and look how that turned out.

Donkeys.

So being super good in a ''poor league'' is not good enough, but being good in a smaller club in a big league is also not good enough? World Class players like Suarez or VVD are noticeable regardless of the club they play for. It is true that stepping to a bigger club is a test, but it's not like scouts go around recommending players based on nothing and we did not pay a world record fee for him based on your ''big fish little pond'' theory.

Who said anything about “not being good enough “ ?

We paid a world record fee on VVD because we fu**ed up in the summer

The point is - the label “world class” gets
thrown around far too easy - before a player has even tested himself fully at the highest level - Suarez and VVD were top players that’s not being disputed but to be truly world class then do it consistently when the pressure is at its highest

Also, nobody said you can't buy good players in the winter window. You're missing the point. The point is that its not the ideal window to conduct your transfer business in especially when you are top of the league and the team is doing good unless you are buying some back-up for injured players or you are stuck in a bidding war for a player you consider an important piece of your puzzle in the future.

If a player is good enough and enhances the squad then it doesn’t matter when they arrive as long as the manager adjusts the player at the right price - but not many clubs do big major business in jan beyond the odd player anyway

Who said anything about “not being good enough “ ?

We paid a world record fee on VVD because we fu**ed up in the summer

The point is - the label “world class” gets
thrown around far too easy - before a player has even tested himself fully at the highest level - Suarez and VVD were top players that’s not being disputed but to be truly world class then do it consistently when the pressure is at its highest

If a player is good enough and enhances the squad then it doesn’t matter when they arrive as long as the manager adjusts the player at the right price - but not many clubs do big major business in jan beyond the odd player anyway

Agreed about the term ''World Class'' being thrown around a bit too easily. Maybe Suarez and Coutinho were not world class before joining.

Agreed about the term ''World Class'' being thrown around a bit too easily. Maybe Suarez and Coutinho were not world class before joining.

Coutinho is not world class. He'll be lucky if he's still at Barcelona next two years. I can imagine him at Seville or Napoli etc... PSG at a push. He's a great player but vastly overrated.

So what’s the latest on Pulisic ?
One report saying we’re favourites to sign him, the next saying Chavez are about to !
Anyone got any news on this.
I’d love to see him here !

So what’s the latest on Pulisic ?
One report saying we’re favourites to sign him, the next saying Chavez are about to !
Anyone got any news on this.
I’d love to see him here !

I reckon we'll make a move in the summer, unless Solanke goes on loan in Jan. Pulisic isn't getting games because of Sancho, so he'll probable be an upgrade to Solanke and Origi, but he'd be looking at the bench here too. We do need quality on the bench though. Another option is Origi and Lallana out, Pulisic in. Solanke then stays.