Pulisic not for sale, according to Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director has again warned Liverpool the club is wasting its time if it attempts to buy American teenager Christian Pulisic in the upcoming transfer window.

The 18-year-old winger has seen a rapid rise with Dortmund, going from a youth player just over a year ago to a rotation player who has started 11 games between the Bundesliga and Champions League in 2016-17 and made five appearances off the bench.

Liverpool reportedly was interested in reuniting Pulisic with Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund's manager when the teenager joined the club in 2015, back in the summer, with an 11 million pound bid ($13.9M) rejected. That interest has reportedly intensified with an injury to Philippe Coutinho and the likely departure of Sadio Mane for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

But despite reports Liverpool is willing to spend £25 million ($31.7M) to land the U.S. international, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said Tuesday such a move would be a waste of time.

"We have communicated very clearly that we won't sell Christian, and that he's very much part of our plans," Zorc told Bild. "Liverpool don't need to waste their time."

It is not the first time Zorc has batted away recent talk of a Liverpool approach for Pulisic. In addition to rejecting the summer bid, in November he said the move “is not worth the effort,” though that did not deter rumors of a Reds approach. 

Pulisic has scored two goals in his 16 appearances this season. He was named U.S. Soccer’s Young Male Player of the Year on Friday.