Former United States international Brian McBride has warned Christian Pulisic against moving to Manchester United in the summer.
The 19-year-old, who has attracted the attention of several clubs after breaking into the Borussia Dortmund starting XI, recently admitted to being a big Man United fan and refused to rule out a Premier League move in the future.
Reports have claimed that United were monitoring him this season but Jose Mourinho, when asked about adding further attacking reinforcements, insisted his focus would be elsewhere.
And McBride has encouraged Pulisic to move somewhere that would place greater emphasis on a rapid, attacking style aligning closer with the style espoused by his current employers.
“It all depends. Choosing for him a club that would help him develop his style and his skillset is going to be a necessity,” he said.
“When you talk about some of these bigger clubs, they don’t necessarily play the same type of soccer they play in Dortmund.
“The thing that’s always in the back of your mind is the desire to play at one of the biggest clubs – they are monster clubs, all of them are – and the fun of moving to a different club and working through the process of making it there.
“I would make sure the club plays the style of soccer I play. If you’re going to Manchester United, you know you’re not going to be on the ball nearly as much as you are at Liverpool or Real Madrid.”
The idea of Pulisic moving to United in the summer makes no sense whatsoever. Mourinho has said himself that he doesn’t want any further mouths to feed in attack and the teenager, isolated in a city he doesn’t know, would struggle for minutes in a team full of forwards with greater pedigree and experience.
Signing the 19-year-old would not serve as a vital injection of energy and panache to a side depleted of vitality going forward like it was with Anthony Martial in 2015. Perhaps in a couple of years it would make sense, but Pulisic’s first priority at the moment should be minutes on the pitch.