Marchisio Boateng
Manchester United former scout has revealed how the club neglected his advice to sign new Premier League sensation and now Chelsea winger, Christian Pulisic.
Manchester United’s former international scout who closely kept an eye on Pulisic ever since the player’s father, phoned him and asked him to come and take a look at his son advised his club to sign the young American.
“It wasn’t a case of ‘look at this kid’, it was ‘sign this kid’.” said scout Jorge Alvial.
Alvial who had played alongside Mark Pulisic (father of Christian) earlier in their career was more than happy to do his friend a favour and at least take a look at the rising star.
“I still have a video from when he was 13, right before I took him to Chelsea, that his father sent me,” Alvial told M.E.N. Sport. “I was watching it the other day and he is doing the same things right now at the higher level just so much better. Even back then he was so much better than anyone else.
“When you see a young player, and I don’t mean just the speed, the dribbling, the knowledge, the composure, he has added to it since I met him. The same thing with (Alphonso) Davies, they know exactly where they are going and nobody is going to stop them.”
Jorge offered the young American an opportunity to go on trial with Premier League club Chelsea, but the London club was hesitant about signing a teenage player without a European passport.
Instead the family decided to look elsewhere for a pathway into European football and Alvial was again on hand to offer some words of advice.
He added: “When he went to Chelsea they asked me for my advice and I said ‘listen, of what I see of this young man, don’t bring him back to the US because unfortunately at this moment it is not ready to develop a player of this calibre. If somehow we can take him to South America, to River Plate or one of the big clubs where he can develop, or you can stay in Europe.’
“I made some calls and he got a couple of tryouts. I think he went to Villarreal, he went to PSV for a trial, and then in the PSV tryout one of the Dortmund scouts saw him and brought him in.”
It proved to be the perfect match for Pulisic as he quickly rose through the youth ranks at the German side before making his breakthrough into the Borussia Dortmund first-team.
His emergence as one of the leading stars in the Bundesliga coincided with Alvial’s arrival at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho, and straight away the experienced scout made it clear Pulisic was a player they had to look at.
The former United scout recalls: “I knew how well he was developing in Dortmund and he was just going to keep coming up, and become a superstar because he was doing very well.
“I have always believed in him, I have always kept close contact with his father, and I called him to say I was recommending him to Manchester United.
“So it was many times that I did recommend him, but at the same time because I was only doing North America, it wasn’t my region because he was playing in Germany. We all had a list (of targets) and I had him first along with Alphonso (Davies).
“Highly, highly recommended for them to sign him, and I know also the German scout was very into him, he really liked him too.
“It wasn’t a case of ‘look at this kid’, it was ‘sign this kid’.”
