Former Premier League goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has urged Liverpool to go all out for long-time transfer target Christian Pulisic.
According to former Newcastle goalkeeper and now ESPN Pundit Shaka Hislop, Liverpool should reignite their interest in Christian Pulisic. As reported by Mirror, the 49-year-old firmly believes that the American whizkid could be an ideal fit for the Premier League as they aim to pose a strong threat for the title next season.
Pulisic was one of the players courted by Liverpool a few months ago. But, the Reds were rebuffed in their attempts of signing the Dortmund sensation. Their bid for the 19-year-old was twice rejected by the Bundesliga giants, which was enough ward off the interest from Liverpool, who have already splashed £170 million on new signings this summer.
However, Hislop believes that they should still make a push for the highly talented attacker, who could be an “easy fit” at the club.
“Given Klopp’s own history with Dortmund, his style, which Dortmund still mirrors in many regards and it becomes an easy fit. But even that I don’t think sways my decision, or should sway his decision, one way or the other,” Hislop said.
“When you’ve got a player as talented as Christian Pulisic is, when you’ve got a player who has shown the quality, the leadership, that can get around the park, it fits. If it were me, my club, and I’m building a team, and I can get Pulisic at a decent price, I take him,” he added.
That being said, the addition of Pulisic might not actually be a prudent move from Liverpool’s perspective. In fact, much of Hislop’s words can be deemed wrong in many aspects here.
First and foremost, Borussia Dortmund have pursued an entirely different gameplay since the departure of Klopp. His initial replacement in Thomas Tuchel, who now coaches PSG, developed the ‘Juego de Posicion’ style of play, which mostly focuses on maintaining possession of the ball, unlike Klopp’s aggressive counter-attacking philosophy.
And following the success of Tuchel’s gameplan, Dortmund have since followed the possession-based gameplay though it was slightly altered by Peter Bosz at the start of last season.
As for Pulisic, the American teenager could actually struggle in the Premier League given the fact that he failed to maintain consistency throughout Bundesliga Ruckrunde 2018. The 19-year-old often looked out of touch as the Black and Yellows struggled throughout the second half of the campaign.
Despite his obvious potential and class, the pressure of having to deliver in arguably the most competitive league in the world coupled with the expensive price-tag that will come along with his name might just prove to be too much for the BVB youth product.
Thus, the American international certainly needs time to hone his skill in the highest level of football before he can be deemed eligible of making of a big-money move to the Premier League. But, for the time being, Liverpool should definitely monitor his progress in the Bundesliga next season as Dortmund gear up for the all-new season.
