I am solely referring to BigSoccer's various forums. See some posts above for examples. If a person doesn't think CP deserves the minutes he's gotten, I will instantly label them a hater. He has clearly been up to the task, just not excellent. He is 20, his counting stats are decent and improving. Jadon's quality doesn't diminish CP's quality, it merely diminishes his value to BVB. As to whether CP is arrogant, I'd have to leave that to someone who works with him. I know that when I was a competitive athlete, I was demonstrative. If I had a poor performance, when it was over I was visibly upset. But if you could have seen into my mind you would know I was just mad at myself. My upset was only focused on my own performance and how it didn't meet my own expectations. So when I see CP upset, I don't assume he is raging at the world/coach/teammates that wronged him. I assume he is a competitor who wants more, who wants to play, and who wants to excel and has had his day end early. The only thing that bothers me with CP is that he hasn't resigned. I want every player to love BVB as much as Reus. Which is naive and impossible of me, but that is what being a fan of a team is: an immature indulgence in mental possession of things that aren't yours. But I love it anyway And I'll keep loving CP and Sancho until they leave.
Pulisic to me still has huge potential. Although this season he hasn't gotten it going at all. But think about it: maybe he was stellar last season because he could bring in his individual brilliance when team play was stagnant! But this season, we are playing well as a team. So now it's a new challenge for a him: a different way to play, team play! Get better by making a good pass, instead of always trying to dribble. The faster he realizes this, the faster we see his potential. Given the timing of his end of contract, and given that his agent is his dad, I expect him to stay longer in BVB, and we shouldn't try to sell him.
He wasn't stellar last season. For me Pulisic is in the same boat as Weigl, who I am a big fan of. Poor performances for too long and though both have huge potential, they just don't deserve to be starting and would hold back the team. Luckily we have Witsel so Weigl can be his understudy and learn from him. Witsel gives the performances expected. The same applies for Pulisic. The performances are not at the level required and it's why the board want to bring in someone who can. It's not hating to say the truth. The two positions we are weakest in are left wing and left back. EDIT In other news West Ham and Everton are reportedly in for Kagawa. Moving to Everton would be a bad move for him, because he wouldn't get into the team, but West Ham would be good and West Ham like to pay good wages. Also hopefully we get a decent fee.
But it isn't "truth". It is opinion. He has been at the level. If the team didn't have Sancho, they'd be worse. If the team didn't have CP, they'd be worse. CP has done well, and if more of the opportunities he said up were cashed in, people would be fine. Of course it is on him to set up more and set up better so that more get scored, but as people who watch the games we can see through that in terms of value. His touch has been off for several games in a row, and because he uses soft touches a lot it really shows when he's off. Soft touches need way more precision. Who can say why it has been off, but probably not because of his "arrogance". Very few athletes go through continuous upward progress. As you reach the top of a field it becomes less obvious how to move forward, so things that seem like valid practice or ideas turn out to be not productive or even counter-productive. I think it is a safe bet that CP is not at his peak at the age of 20. I think it is a safe bet that neither he, nor his roster competition, will have uninterrupted upward trajectories. It is also a safe bet that the haters are gonna hate.
Pulisic hasn't done well enough. Forgetting everything else, he should have numbers close to Sancho and Alcacer to be doing well. I know Americans are heavily invested in him, but that level performance is just not going to cut it if Dortmund are going to win the Bundesliga. There is a reason even Larsen has replaced him. Has Pulisic played even close to the level of Sancho, Reus and Alcacer? If the answer is no, then he is not playing at the required level. We need a wing, who can come close to that. It's very obvious where Pulisic needs to improve. Stop dribbling down blind allies and actually track back more. Those are two simple things and would immediately improve his game. Then the runs he makes and picking the right passes require more time. It's very clear that Pulisic has a lot of fanboys, who are prepared to defend him no matter what. Nobody is saying Pulisic is the complete player and nobody is saying he doesn't have potential. However, we are talking about the HERE and the NOW. Currently he is not good enough and he has shown NO commitment to stay for longer. Why would I hate a Dortmund player? Is Pulisic doing very well for a 20 year old? Yes. Is Pulisic doing very well for a title winning winger? No Has Pulisic show signs he will stay here for 3/4 years when he fulfils his potential? No Is there any point sacrificing short term goals for a player, who won't be at us when he reaches his potential? No The DailyMail is not a reliable source, but the journalist, who wrote the article is very reliable. It seems Chelsea will come in to get him in January. A move to Chelsea will be the best for everyone. Pulisic will get lots of games in the Europa League/Premier League and the chance to learn from Hazard/Sarri. Dortmund would get a big fee and the chance to sign a replacement.
Pulisic to Chelsea is done. Fee in the region of 80M€. Is Hazard leaving for Real? Perez needs to save face.
Is that figure sourced from the daily mail? 18 months left on contract itd be committing daylight robbery on the Russian robber baron.
I haven't seen that the transfer is done. 80 million would be a brilliant deal for us, maybe Chelsea is really that desperate considering a possible transfer ban could be coming for them. 80 seems way too high though, I'd expect half of that in the summer. We are still in a good position to win something this year. If the club thinks that the BL title is a realistic goal as well, then it doesn't make sense to lose players. That assumes that the club regards Pulisic as an important factor to reach that goal. If they think Larsen/Philipp/Wolf or someone new can pick up the playing time with comparable output, then I guess it's a reasonable gamble to get 40 million more in the winter than what we'd possibly get in the summer with the same outcome in the league. But I'm pretty sure that Bayern will look better next year and they'll also close the gap to us this season. I'd rather do everything to win the title this year when the chance is there.
Also the following players had been transfer listed: Kagawa, Toljan, Rode, Isak and Burnic. Bild+ is saying that Götze and Weigl have joined that list as well.
I also doubt that amount is that high. I think it's with bonuses. Abramovich is also in deep shit. He's desperately trying to hawk the club. So it seems odd that he'd spend that much to begin with.
I don't even think he is playing his best position. IMO, in an ideal world he would not be anywhere near the top of the team in minutes played, and all of those minutes would not all be at a wing spot. I would have him giving Reus a break here and there and have him working towards backing up that spot. If the rumors of 70 m are true and BVB and Puli cannot come to contract terms then I don't see how BVB can pass that up. 70 million is a lot for a guy whose best spot is backing up an all world player on a run of good health. I think it must be frustrating for lifelong BVB fans to see their beloved team so close to being able to take the next step up only to see the team sold off piecemeal on the cusp of greatness. Pulisic has his flaws, but he still could play a role in BVB taking some trophies. Sancho is unlikely to be at BVB past this contract. He came to BVB to prove himself- mission accomplished. Any team that comes after him now will pay so much he will be a starter until he proves he isn't up to it. It is all working to plan for him.
The first five makes sense and it would be great business if we could get rid of all 5. I wouldn't want Gotze or Weigl to leave unless they were pushing for a move. Weigl is still very young and he needs to bulk up. If he was prepared to stay and be the under study to Witsel, then I would like to keep him. Gotze's wages are the stumbling block. He earns too much for a squad player, but if he stays then I would keep him too. Sorry, but can you clarify what you mean there. Do you mean there is NO German source or that your information comes from a German source. The English source is a reliable one. With English sources you need to look at the journalist rather than the paper. I am fairly certain the money would be reinvested. We could buy a top class left winger, second choice striker and left back if we sell all the players we are aiming to.
I suppose Pulisic played in the middle for the national team but at least at the moment, I don't see him having the qualities for playing as a 10. His vision, passing and decision making still have so much room for improvement. Further, he has many turnovers that I'd say are more costly when they come through the middle. He also doesn't have the soft and close ball controll of guys like Götze or Kagawa. He has speed though and is a good dribbler which is why he's used on the wing. Reus should get more breaks but we have other players more suitable for that position. As for Sancho, he recently extended his contract. What comes after that, I don't know but I expect at least two, maybe 3 more years of him here until a decison has to be made.
Well if the transfer news are true.. then I'd worry about Pulisic's development.. and also we'll start loosing depth on the wings
I was lazy with the punctuation. I meant "no, German source". German sources are fairly reliable. Even Bild at times. Their reliability hits a wall when they quote other sources, particularly Italian ones. I don't want to sell Weigl either. But Götze is done. His case is a terribly sad one. In 2012, seems like yesterday, he was a world beater competing with Neymar and well above KdB, Eriksen, Coutinho and Dybala. All of these players have left him in the dust. We should try and pawn him off for €37M if we can.
No the idea is to reduce the squad size. Pendrinho is most likely going to be signed in the next two weeks. Also you guys missed the signing of Tashreeq Matthews from South Africa. He's expected to be the next Götze.
It would be madness to sell him and not replace him. However, it seems the club are looking for a replacement and Pedrinho is the one they are going for. Thanks. English sources are fairly UNreliable, but as I said it depends on the club and the journalist involved. English sources broke Dortmund Dahoud long before the German ones, because he told Liverpool of his decision to choose Dortmund very early. The Gotze situation is sad to see a player make the wrong choices and be struck down by illness. He does cover a couple of positions. We do need some experience and he has that.
Reduce the squad by selling the Rode's, Tojan's etc.. I don't think Pulisic falls under that.. it is probably a good sum of euros that will get us to sell him So Pedrinho and Matthews.. two baptisms of fire in January?? I'm all for getting these raw gems.. But does it make sense to take such big risks in the middle of a season that's been going so well for us?
I disagree about Pulisic, but I think he could give at least as much as the present versions of Kags and Gotze. No matter though LF appears to agree with your take. On Sancho, I hope you are right, but I believe one and a half seasons from here is max for Sancho, barring a CL title and even that might not be enough. When the English come calling for the future face of their national team the money will get stupid fast.
All up to Pulisic, Dortmund may want to keep him but we must cash in if he won't extend. Letting an extremely marketable asset run down his contract is bad management. Like Pulisic, the challenge for Sancho is to keep his ego in check despite the hype. Just look at Dembele's problems at Barcelona. Sancho already turned down stupid money from the richest club in the world to realize his potential at Dortmund, something Pulisic or Dembele would never do if they were in his shoes. For a teenager he shows an uncommon sense of judgment on and off the pitch.
Aki and co. want to reduce the squad size because we have a lot of dead weight eating up a large chunk of that 178M annual wage budget. Other than the players transfer listed there is also Wolf who is useless. Philip might join that club fairly soon. By getting rid of Rode 6M, Toljan 4M, Toprak 5M, Isak 1M, Burnic 1M, Kagawa 6M, Wiegl 4M, Götze 6M, Phillip 3M, we've already dropped the wage budget by over 35M. Delaney earns about 6M. He tripled his salary. Witsel likely earns almost 10M. Pendrinho etc. will likely be a lot cheaper. But what we clearly need is another player in his prime like Paco, Reus and Witsel who can be a "Mentalitätsspieler" and they need to be paid around 10M a year.
I still love Pulisic but I think he is not going to be some Neymar type of winger. If we are getting offers anywhere close to where these reports are then we should sell.. Can buy some very servicable replacements for him like the kid from BRazil who would probably be pretty comparable to CP. BVB would be dumn to keep him and let his value go further down since he is getting closer to his contract running out.
If they are offering 70M for Pulisic, then it seems pretty clear that should be done if the goal is to keep turning young talent into money. If the goal is to maintain a deep and strong side so we can rotate and attempt to win BL and CL, then selling CP in the winter is the wrong idea. Then when Sancho gets a knock, who is starting? Maxi and JBL? That is a losing lineup versus CL teams. Pedrinho? Let's wait until we've seen him. If Pulisic won't extended, then he has to be sold in the summer. It seems inevitable he will go to the PL. But this season is going well and Pulisic is a part of that. Take away a CL win and a PL win and we aren't sitting so pretty, and removing CP from this roster is doing just that.