Pulisic Second Only to Mbappe in List of World's Most Valuable U-20 Talents

The American teenager's transfer value is said to be among the highest in the world for players under 20.

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