Youssoufa Moukoko is the child prodigy of German football. He is the great storm hope of a whole nation. Even if his arrival in professional football takes time, the BVB striker is slowly beginning to keep his promise. He wants to be well paid for a new contract, it is now said.
Youssoufa Moukoko recently left the U21s. He had "twisted his neck a bit and blocked it," said the DFB camp. And a picture couldn't fit better, because everything is blocked and twisted in the background: BVB's contract negotiations with the derby hero are faltering.
The 17-year-old's current working papers expire next summer, and there is no sign of an agreement. Almost two years after his long-awaited debut in the deserted Berlin Olympic Stadium, the future of the striker is still unclear.
As the "Bild" newspaper now reports, this depends above all on the demands of the (former) child prodigy, who with two goals this season leads the internal scorer list of the Bundesliga's second-placed team, who have so far had little accuracy. BVB, it is said, should offer Moukoko four million euros a year, but he should demand a salary of six million euros a year. Still a big difference.
In addition to the salary demands, it can be read that the U21 national striker, who sometimes still looks like a youth player, is also about more playing time. He hopes to do so in the coming weeks leading up to the World Cup in Qatar.
In principle, however, both sides can imagine an extension of the contract. However, the devil is in the details. First of all, the blockages have to be cleared. Then it works on the pitch and at the negotiating table. Otherwise there is a risk of a free transfer.
Moukoko is currently in BVB coach Edin Terzic's system as an impact player from the bench. Although he has played in nine out of ten possible games this season, he has only started twice. Anthony Modeste currently holds the position there.
The former Cologne native was hired as a short-term replacement for Sébastien Haller, who was ill. However, the 34-year-old has not yet found any connection to the game, only attracting attention with his powerful headers when defending opposing standards. Many observers now see Moukoko's time as coming.
"There are phases in which he doesn't play. That's quite normal in Dortmund," said German U21 national coach Antonio Di Salvo before the friendly last week: "He has to try to get more and more playing time there. The trust he got it from Edin Terzic, he also has our trust." In the past few weeks, there has even been a discussion as to whether Moukoko could not also gain the confidence of national coach Hansi Flick in November. His joker qualities, his header qualities could be in demand at the World Cup in Qatar, it was said in the midst of the German striker crisis.
But that may come too soon for the striker, who was once given a present by Lionel Messi for his 15th birthday. While Moukoko actually broke all records in the BVB youth, he is still missing the goals in the professional team of Dortmund Borussia. While the German U21s have already scored six goals in just five appearances, he has seven goals in 36 appearances in the Bundesliga. Which is still a staggering number for a 17-year-old. "He's still a young player who has a lot to learn. He'll only be 18 in November. You can't forget that," said Di Salvo.
(This article was first published on Thursday, September 29, 2022.)
