U.S. international Christian Pulisic has said he is happy at Borussia Dortmund amid renewed rumours he could join Liverpool.
Following his breakthrough season at Dortmund, Pulisic has once again been linked with Liverpool, who made an attempt to sign the winger last year.
However, Pulisic — who signed a new contract in January — has said he has no intention of leaving the Westfalenstadion at this stage.
Asked about the Liverpool speculation, the 18-year-old told Sport Bild: “Yes, I have read that as well. What can I say? I’m focused on the start of the season.
“I’ll lay it on the line for you: I am not thinking about changing clubs. After all, I only signed a new deal through to 2020 in January. I am very happy at Dortmund.”
Pulisic played in 43 competitive games for Dortmund last season, scoring five goals and providing 13 assists.
He has enjoyed even greater success for United States, scoring seven goals in 15 appearances, with five of those strikes coming in World Cup qualifiers.
“Football might not be the biggest sport in America, but the popularity of our soccer keeps growing,” he said. “It would be fantastic if I could contribute my part to inspire kids to play football.”
Meanwhile, Dortmund attacker Andre Schurrle is set for a month-long spell on the sidelines.
BVB announced on Wednesday that the Germany international “sustained a muscle tear in his thigh and because of this injury will need to rest for four weeks.”
? Bitter! @Andre_Schuerrle hat einen Faserriss im Oberschenkel erlitten und wird etwa vier Wochen ausfallen. Gute Besserung! ? pic.twitter.com/F21v4IgnN3
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) August 16, 2017
Going into the new Bundesliga season, Schurrle’s injury limits coach Peter Bosz’s options in attack even more.
Dortmund are already without suspended winger Ousmane Dembele and Germany international Marco Reus, while Emre Mor, whose transfer to Inter has collapsed for now, could compete for a place in BVB’s attack with €20 million signing Maximilian Philipp and Pulisic.
Schurrle became Dortmund’s record signing when joining from Wolfsburg for a reported transfer fee of €30m last summer. However, he endured a disappointing first year at the Westfalenstadion with only two goals and three assists in 15 Bundesliga games.
Stephan Uersfeld is the Germany correspondent for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @uersfeld.