Pulisic in right place at Dortmund, says Arena

Christian Pulisic is in the right place at Borussia Dortmund despite speculation linking the attacker with a Premier League transfer, says former United States coach Bruce Arena.

Pulisic is considered one of the world’s most exciting young players, having broken through into the Dortmund first team and had a strong impact in the Bundesliga.

The versatile attacker is not 20 until September and is expected to be a cornerstone of the United States national team for many years to come.

Arena coached Pulisic during his second spell in charge, which came to an end after the USA surprisingly failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

And the 66-year-old believes Pulisic should stay at Dortmund and ignore suggestions clubs including Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United are ready to swoop.

“I think Christian is in a great place. Dortmund has a very good reputation for developing players,” Arena told Omnisport when promoting his new book.

“In his couple [of] years there with the first team he’s done very well. Hopefully he can continue to do that, be consistent at the club level and if he does that he’s going to be a real plus for the national team programme.

“Any move Christian makes in the future, it’s important he goes to a club where he plays on a regular basis. There’s no point in him leaving Dortmund and going to a club where he doesn’t get the kind of minutes he needs to continue to develop.”

#OnThisDay two years ago, a 17-year-old @cpulisic_10 made his competitive debut for @BVB  pic.twitter.com/PlvaYnvcFJ

— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 30, 2018

The 2026 World Cup will be held in the US, which succeeded with a joint-bid that includes some matches being played in Canada and Mexico.

And with the 2028 Olympics having been awarded to Los Angeles, Arena sees a bright future for football in America.

“Having the World Cup in the US in 2026 is going to be terrific, for our country, for our soccer environment, it’s going to bring much more attention to American players, to our league and help to continue to grow the sport,” Arena added.

“I think between now and 2026 we can make a bunch of changes in our country to help grow the sport and hopefully over the next couple of years we get a little bit creative, we set some good policy and we succeed with it.

“No question about it – having a World Cup and the Olympics in our country in the next decade is going to be great for the sport of soccer.

Outspoken, honest, and game changing—Bruce Arena’s memoir What’s Wrong with US? is available now wherever books are sold. For more information, visit https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062803948/whats-wrong-with-us/.