What Role Will Christian Pulisic Play at Borussia Dortmund as Season Progresses?
When Thomas Tuchel took Marco Reus off the pitch in the 70th minute of Saturday's game at Borussia Monchengladbach, it was Erik Durm who replaced Borussia Dortmund's superstar.
It was a somewhat surprising change, considering Durm has played exclusively at full-back for the Black and Yellows' first team in recent years, but nothing out of the ordinary. For one 17-year-old talent, however, it meant that his debut was delayed for at least another seven days.
Christian Pulisic, who made the bench for the first time, will surely have been a little disappointed that he wasn't chosen to replace Reus, but the mere fact that he was in a position to hope for his debut is telling: It means that Tuchel believes in this young kid from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and that Pulisic could play a role for the first team despite only starting to regularly train with them since the start of 2016.
Predicting what role the U.S. youth international will play for the Ruhr side as the season progresses depends—to some degree, at least—on the last few days of the transfer window, which closes on February 2.
The original plan for Pulisic and fellow Dortmund under-19 standout Felix Passlack was to train with the first team but get match practice with the club's youth outfit, per Matthias Dersch of local paper Ruhr Nachrichten (link in German).
With the former impressing in the Dubai training camp and all four friendlies the club played in preparation of the rest of the season, however, it seems as though he could play a larger role than initially envisaged.
Since the most substantial rumours flying around the Black and Yellows at the moment centre on central midfielders Oliver Torres from Atletico Madrid and Mikel Merino from CA Osasuna, per Thursday's edition of sport magazine Kicker and multiple other reports, one would think that Pulisic will remain one of the first alternatives for both wings.
As SI.com's Liviu Bird detailed, that's where he's gotten most opportunities at Signal Iduna Park so far:
"Pulisic has appeared primarily on either wing for BVB, though he played as the playmaking No. 10 for the U.S. at the [2015 under-17] World Cup. He turned heads with his fearless, repeated runs at opposing defenses, showing great technical ability and a cool head in deciphering the proper situation to dribble or pass.
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These attributes make him a perfect fit for Tuchel's system, in which the full-backs provide width by making overlapping runs, while the wingers often pull toward the middle of the attacking third.
Thanks to impressive technique, Pulisic likes to run at defenders, as one can see in the video below.
What helps him immensely is the fact that he can use both feet. He scored his second goal for the senior outfit last Sunday in a practice match at Union Berlin with a left-footed finish.
His quickness and determination make him a strong player in gegenpressing—considering his lack of bulk at 5'8'' of height and the fact that he'll only turn 18 in September, that's surprising.
All in all, it's plain to see that this isn't a normal 17-year-old who gets to train with the big boys. This is an outstanding talent who will obviously benefit from training at the highest level each day, but that won't be it.
No, Pulisic could get significant playing time for Tuchel's side as the season progresses. As it stands, he's one of the first alternatives for Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in attacking midfield.
In a thin squad with a lot of games on the schedule, it's only a matter of time until Dortmund's prodigy—we ranked him as the Black and Yellows' top youth prospect earlier in January—will get his chance. If his performances since joining the senior squad this year are any indication, there's no reason to believe he won't run with it.
Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
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