Liverpool target Christian Pulisic reveals his love for Reds' arch-rivals Manchester United

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic has publicly expressed his admiration for Manchester United after revealing that he "loved watching" Red Devils star Wayne Rooney in action. The 17-year-old was signed for the Bundesliga outfit in January 2015 for their academy.

He made his way into Thomas Tuchel's side in the second half of last season and since then, went on to score three goals and registered an assist in 15 appearances in all competitions. His form for the German side saw him attract interest from Liverpool.

According to the Daily Mail, Jurgen Klopp was keen on bringing his former player to Anfield in the recently concluded summer transfer window. The Reds even made a £11m ($14.7m) bid for his services. However, the deal did not take shape and the midfielder continued with Dortmund.

Pulisic admitted that he was aware of recent reports linking him with a move away from the Signal Iduna Park. However, the player admitted that he was focused on his development and did not let media speculation affect his game.

"I was a big Manchester United fan when I was younger, so I loved to watch Wayne Rooney. I wouldn't say I'm a similar player, though. I think his passion for the game is something you don't see much in players. That's what I loved about him," Pulisic told ESPN .

"I hear about it. I have social media. Obviously I'm not completely closed to the world. But I don't let it affect me or how I'm playing at the time. The whole time throughout, I was just focused on training every day.

When asked if he allows his representatives to deal with transfers, he said: "Yeah, that's how it works."

Pulisic became the youngest United State's men's national team player to ever start a World Cup qualifiers for his national side when he was included in the starting lineup against Trinidad & Tobago.

He was 17 years and 353 days old, beating Landon Donovan's previous record of 18 years and 184 days. The latter set the record when he started for the US national team against Honduras in September 2001.