Pulisic Second Only to Mbappe in List of World's Most Valuable U-20 Talents
Not since Freddy Adu has an American teenager been talked about quite so much as Christian Pulisic in the world of football. But unlike Adu, who in 2004 became the youngest person ever to sign a professional sports contract in the USA, Pulisic is managing to realize his immense talent.
Pulisic made his competitive debut for Borussia Dortmund in January 2016 just four months after his 17th birthday. Now, at the age of 19, is in his second full season in the club's first-team.
The Pennsylvania-native has started the 2017/18 campaign in fine form, with his two Bundesliga goals from his position high on the right or left already only one shy of matching his tally for the entire 2016/17 league season.
Statistics website WhoScored ranks Pulisic as Dortmund's third best player this season behind only prolific striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and midfield linchpin Nuri Sahin.
He is flourishing in a team that sits top of the table in Germany and has helped ensure that Ousmane Dembele's €105m summer exit to Barcelona hasn't been badly felt.
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Such has been his impact and development in recent months, that Pulisic's market value, according to Transfermarkt, actually significantly outstrips that of Dembele, the player he essentially replaced.
With Dembele's current market value considered to be €33m, Pulisic has seen his rise to €45m.
It means in terms of every player in the world aged 20 or younger right now, only Paris Saint-Germain sensation Kylian Mbappe (€90m) has a market value that is greater than Pulisic's.
Right now, the American is seen as being €15m more valuable than Manchester City and Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus, and €20m more valuable than AC Milan stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Of all those in the top 20, Renato Sanches, currently on loan at Swansea City after struggling to realize his potential at Bayern Munich, is the only one to have seen his market value fall.
Transfermarkt's 20 Most Valuable Players Aged 20 or Younger:
Player | Club | Market Value |
Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | €90m |
Christian Pulisic | Borussia Dortmund | €45m |
Ousmane Dembele | Barcelona | €33m |
Gabriel Jesus | Manchester City | €30m |
Gianluigi Donnarumma | AC Milan | €25m |
Renato Sanches | Swansea City | €22m |
Youri Tielemans | Monaco | €22m |
Theo Hernandez | Real Madrid | €20m |
Franck Kessie | AC Milan | €20m |
Breel Embolo | Schalke | €20m |
Marcus Rashford | Manchester United | €18m |
Federico Chiesa | Fiorentina | €17m |
Malcom | Bordeaux | €17m |
Goncalo Guedes | Valencia | €17m |
Amadou Diawara | Napoli | €15m |
Mikel Oyarzabal | Real Sociedad | €15m |
Jesus Vallejo | Real Madrid | €15m |
Kasper Dolberg | Ajax | €14m |
Wilfred Ndidi | Leicester City | €14m |
Enes Unal | Villarreal | €14m |
