The Daily Bee: (January 3rd, 2019): Who Will Replace Christian Pulisic?

Good morning, Fear the Wall.

I have no long editorial today, I’m too excited for Liverpool-Manchester City. I think Tottenham are out of the title race at this point, so I’m going all-in on Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. Up the Reds! Anyway, that’s enough of my opinion, here are today’s stories:

Who Will Replace Christian Pulisic?

It’s been a day since Christian Pulisic’s move to Chelsea became official. Now that the dust has settled, I thought it might be interesting to talk about where BVB might want to go from here.

Despite the dozens of rumors floating around, there is no immediate need for Borussia Dortmund to replace Christian Pulisic, as the young American will be staying with BVB for the remainder of the season. Even after Pulisic completes his transfer to Chelsea, Dortmund won’t necessarily need to replace him. BVB will presumably have Jadon Sancho, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Maximilian Philipp, and Raphael Guerreiro as viable options on the wing next season.

However, if Michael Zorc does want to find a direct replacement for Christian Pulisic, there are several options he might consider. Several, less-reliable outlets like The Sun and Talksport have cited Thorgan Hazard as a possible replacement. The Belgian winger has been one of the Bundesliga’s best players this season, and has helped contribute to Mönchengladbach’s stellar start to the season.

The ACTUAL Bundesliga Best XI

This is now the third ‘Hinrunde Best XI’ that I’ve posted on the Daily Bee this week. This is Bundesliga.com’s non-fantasy best XI, and in my opinion, it’s the best one by a significant margin. (LINK)

As you can see, four Borussia Dortmund players made the Bundesliga’s ‘best XI’. In addition, Bundesliga.com included a new position, “Supersub”, just so they could include Paco Alcacer. Of every ‘Best XI’ we’ve seen, I think this one is by far the best.

I could have seen Yann Sommer or Jiri Pavlenka getting the starting spot at goalkeeper, but Gulacsi has been excellent for RB Leipzig, so I won’t complain too much. Willi Orban would also have been a viable option at center back, but Süle and Opemecano have been excellent as well. The front three is spot-on. Alassane Plea might have given Robert Lewandowski a run for his money earlier in the season, but Mönchengladbach’s star has striker has cooled off a bit since getting off to a torrid start.

It’s nice to see Axel Witsel finally make one of these, considering he’s probably been the best midfielder in the Bundesliga this season. Sancho and Reus fully deserve their spots, and it’s nice to see Hakimi recognized for his contributions this season.

442oons Bundesliga Rewind

442oons is a Youtube channel that makes very entertaining soccer-themed music videos. While their main channel usually focuses on the EPL and La Liga, they also cooperate with the Bundesliga’s Youtube channel to produce a lot of hilarious, albeit more family-friendly content. Here’s their 2018 Bundesliga-themed rewind, a parody of Youtube’s own 2018 rewind:

The Daily Buzz

If you were Michael Zorc, How would you deal with Pulisic leaving for Chelsea? Are BVB’s current wingers enough, or would you go looking in the transfer market?