Borussia Dortmund fans are used to young, exciting players leaving the club just before they’ve hit their peak. It’s an unfortunate side effect for any club that enjoys the expertise of scouting and identifying young talent only to then coach them in to the stars of tomorrow.
Despite the relevant experience in coming to terms with such a blow, the current situation with want-away winger Ousmane Dembele is particularly tough to swallow. Since Barcelona announced their interest the young Frenchman has done his utmost to force through a move and has since been banned from first-team training.
When asked to explain the 20-year-old’s action teammate Gonzalo Castro didn’t mince his word. his behaviour is bad for the team. “We must say clearly that this cannot happen,” announced the midfielder. “And his behaviour is bad for the team.”
Yet if Dortmund fans were feeling down about one of their best players throwing his toys out of the pram they needed to wait just 22 minute before they were reminded that should Dembele go they already have a perfect replacement to hand: Christian Pulisic.
The American international opened the scoring against Wolfsburg with a wonderfully placed finish in the first half, and once again unlocked the opposing defence late on in the second half with a pinpoint cross to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to make it three. Amidst an impressive Dortmund performance the young kid from Pennsylvania was undoubtedly the star player.
Indeed any premise of Pulisic kicking off the new season in style was perhaps first suggested in the Super Cup clash with Bayern Munich earlier in the month, when he opened the scoring with a wonderful solo run before pestering the Bavarian defence for the rest of the night. Even the best team in Germany struggled against the young winger.
At just 18 years of age Pulisic is two years younger than Dembele but is by no means two years behind him in his development. Although the French star may be the more established name and now proven in two top European leagues, few Dortmund fans would suggest there’s too much between them.
Despite last season being the first full, senior campaign of his career, Pulisic still managed to bag five goals and 13 assists in a Dortmund team that mostly used him as an impact sub late on in Bundesliga and Champions League games. Yet under new coach Peter Bosz it would seem as though he’s likely to play a much more significant role this time around.
Indeed, it will the new coach that ultimately decides how Dortmund will look in any post-Dembele scenario. Yet while Marco Reus continues to struggle with injury, Mario Gotze continues his long return from a metabolic condition and new signing Maximilian Philipp settles in at his new club it seems as though the American may be the only free-scoring and free-assisting attacking midfielder Bosz can rely upon.
Pulisic is undoubtedly going to enjoy another great campaign with Dortmund this season but should Dembele leave for Barcelona he’s in the perfect position to fill in and take his place as the club’s new wonderkid.
