Youssoufa Moukoko

[sun_tzu]

Apparently the next big thing from Dortmund - turns 16 in November so on youth terms now

Any chance we can offer him a contract when he turns 16 before we leave the EU transition in January? (im sure the tabloids would say payback for bellingham but in reality more like with Jurado where there could be a small window of opportunity to nab a talent at a good price)

39 goals in 20 games at U19 level (for a 15 year old this season) apparently as well

obligatory you tube vid

 

[izec]

He will stay. He may play a bit first team football next season even, as the Bundesliga lowered the age to 16 instead of 17. There is a lot of hype around him and some say he is older than he pretends to be.

He is tearing up the youth, will be interesting to see how he does at senior level. I think he will be excellent personally, he has a lot to his game.

 

[SecondFig]

Any relation to Champ Man legend Tonton Zola Moukoko?

 

[Nick7]

Not a hope he’ll leave Dortmund yet

 

[Classical Mechanic]

His numbers are ridiculous at youth level in Germany. When people first started talking about him he was 12 and looked very old. My instinct was that he was older. These days I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. Dortmund have done well to protect him from that chatter. His skill level is very high so he may be as good as he appears when he steps up.

 

[Okey]

Hadn't heard of him, but once I saw this, I had to check where he was born. I doubt he's the stated age. Worth keeping an eye on as he moves closer to what's probably his real age mates. I would steer clear till I see him perform with the seniors.

 

[Lash]

Any relation to Champ Man legend Tonton Zola Moukoko?

first thought it my mind when I saw the name.

I think he'll have a direct path to the first team. He's been a bit of a meme on the internet, like when Lukaku was at youth level - big lad from early.

 

[Crustanoid]

Any relation to Champ Man legend Tonton Zola Moukoko?

Was literally about to post this.

We need to find out if Cherno Samba has spawned the next gen Messi as well. I really don't get our poor scouting team watching actual players when they could be achieving world domination through CM2001

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Apparently the next big thing from Dortmund - turns 16 in November so on youth terms now

Any chance we can offer him a contract when he turns 16 before we leave the EU transition in January? (im sure the tabloids would say payback for bellingham but in reality more like with Jurado where there could be a small window of opportunity to nab a talent at a good price)

39 goals in 20 games at U19 level (for a 15 year old this season) apparently as well

obligatory you tube vid

Sweet left foot. Takes the piss a lot. Would get battered over here if he did that

 

[SteveW]

Clearly hates his right foot. Looks good though tbf

 

[pascell]

How does he fair in comparison to Ousmane Dembele at the same age?

Some of the pitches in that video are horrendous so he does well to keep it under control.

 

[Adam-Utd]

To be fair I expected him to be way more physically developed, similar to a young Lukaku with that sort of goalscoring record.

Then you see him and he's fairly normally build and looks quick but not Mbappe pace. Maybe he really is that talented? It's hard to know at that age but i'll keep a close eye on him.

he certainly seems to finish well and has quick feet which always bodes well.

 

[Zehner]

Has a lot of hype around him in Germany. And rightly so, he's breaking goal records season after season despite playing with and against players one or two years older than him.

He may of course be older than the official documents but then again, the difference can be two years at best. It's obvious when you see footage of him throughout the years. His style also doesn't really rely on physicality. He's not bullying opponents or running away from them.

So in the worst case, he's a 17 year old who's comfortably the best player in the U19. But he also could be - and that's still the most likely scenario - a 15 year old top talent.

 

[sun_tzu]

Has a lot of hype around him in Germany. And rightly so, he's breaking goal records season after season despite playing with and against players one or two years older than him.

He may of course be older than the official documents but then again, the difference can be two years at best. It's obvious when you see footage of him throughout the years.

So in the worst case, he's a 17 year old who's comfortably the best player in the U19.

Perhaps hes the reason Dortmund felt ok about the 2 year transfer clause for haaland?

 

[In Rainbows]

I still think he's older than he says he is. At the MTU cup in 2016, he's supposed to be 12 years old, who looks the same age as his 13-14 year old teammates. I think he's a year older or so, which is still impressive. It would put him with Greenwood in terms of goal scoring.

 

[Zehner]

Perhaps hes the reason Dortmund felt ok about the 2 year transfer clause for haaland?

I know Dortmund fans who are more excited about Moukoko than about Sancho, Haaland and Reyna. There are quite a few who think he may be the next big thing and the biggest talent they've ever had at their club. Remains to be seen. I'm really curious how he'll do in the Bundesliga. Will certainly replace Sahin as the youngest player to play a Bundesliga match when he finally debuts.

 

[.mica]

I know Dortmund fans who are more excited about Moukoko than about Sancho, Haaland and Reyna. There are quite a few who think he may be the next big thing and the biggest talent they've ever had at their club. Remains to be seen. I'm really curious how he'll do in the Bundesliga. Will certainly replace Sahin as the youngest player to play a Bundesliga match when he finally debuts.

Yeah, some are excited. But you have to keep calm and wait how he will do in our first squad. Could turn out that he is a pretty "normal" player, could also be the next big thing. Best is to stay relaxed and leave him alone.

 

[Thiagoal]

The next Freddy Adu..

But in all seriousness some of these kids are well ahead of there peers at this age group and look phenomenal but when their peers catch up physically they struggle!

Will be interesting watching his development but Greenwood looked far more impressive to my eye in the U16’s

 

[limerickcitykid]

I still think he's older than he says he is. At the MTU cup in 2016, he's supposed to be 12 years old, who looks the same age as his 13-14 year old teammates. I think he's a year older or so, which is still impressive. It would put him with Greenwood in terms of goal scoring.

A 12 year old that looked like a 13 year old, feck me. Do you have a PhD in telling kids ages?

 

[limerickcitykid]

Hadn't heard of him, but once I saw this, I had to check where he was born. I doubt he's the stated age. Worth keeping an eye on as he moves closer to what's probably his real age mates. I would steer clear till I see him perform with the seniors.

This doesn’t even make any sense.

Moves closer to his real age mates? He’s playing 4 years up. So by that reckoning he’d have to be 8-10 years older than stated. He’s been known since he’s was about 10 and was clearly not an 18-20 year old claiming to be 10.

 

[In Rainbows]

A 12 year old that looked like a 13 year old, feck me. Do you have a PhD in telling kids ages?

You're blind if you can look at him and think there's not something off about some kid claiming to be the same age as his teammates while playing up age groups. Compare him in 2016 to Greenwood, Laird, Garner, and Williams. And Laird is pretty big for his age. The fact that he doesn't look out of place compared to them yet is supposed to be 3 years younger should tell you something.

 

[KM]

Has a lot of hype around him in Germany. And rightly so, he's breaking goal records season after season despite playing with and against players one or two years older than him.

He may of course be older than the official documents but then again, the difference can be two years at best. It's obvious when you see footage of him throughout the years. His style also doesn't really rely on physicality. He's not bullying opponents or running away from them.

So in the worst case, he's a 17 year old who's comfortably the best player in the U19. But he also could be - and that's still the most likely scenario - a 15 year old top talent.

Thought exactly same. In the video above, most of the goals of him are by beating a player by pure skill rather than using his physicality. Looks like an incredible talent.

 

[Acrobat7]

You're blind if you can look at him and think there's not something off about some kid claiming to be the same age as his teammates while playing up age groups. Compare him in 2016 to Greenwood, Laird, Garner, and Williams. And Laird is pretty big for his age. The fact that he doesn't look out of place compared to them yet is supposed to be 3 years younger should tell you something.

At worst he might be 17. And he is still destroying the U19 league.

 

[In Rainbows]

At worst he might be 17. And he is still destroying the U19 league.

That was my point. It's still impressive what he's doing. Even if he is lying about his age (we don't know, but I think he is), he has an impressive goal scoring record regardless. So he's still a top prospect.

 

[limerickcitykid]

You're blind if you can look at him and think there's not something off about some kid claiming to be the same age as his teammates while playing up age groups. Compare him in 2016 to Greenwood, Laird, Garner, and Williams. And Laird is pretty big for his age. The fact that he doesn't look out of place compared to them yet is supposed to be 3 years younger should tell you something.

There is nothing blind about not claiming to tell apart a 12 and 13 year old. It’s a ridiculous claim. You aren’t an expert on kids ages capable of telling what age every kid in the world is.

It doesn’t tell you anything, and listing other players is what aboutism. RoShaun Williams was a tank and growing a beard at 16. My teammate at 14 was 6’5. I suppose they were actually lying about their age too?

Your claim is based on nothing but him being African

 

[Adisa]

Apparently the next big thing from Dortmund - turns 16 in November so on youth terms now

Any chance we can offer him a contract when he turns 16 before we leave the EU transition in January? (im sure the tabloids would say payback for bellingham but in reality more like with Jurado where there could be a small window of opportunity to nab a talent at a good price)

39 goals in 20 games at U19 level (for a 15 year old this season) apparently as well

obligatory you tube vid

Don't think he touched the ball with his right foot even once in that video.

 

[do.ob]

I know Dortmund fans who are more excited about Moukoko than about Sancho, Haaland and Reyna. There are quite a few who think he may be the next big thing and the biggest talent they've ever had at their club. Remains to be seen. I'm really curious how he'll do in the Bundesliga. Will certainly replace Sahin as the youngest player to play a Bundesliga match when he finally debuts.

Do you think these people are actually watching his youth matches? Every talented youth player gets hyped to death by his club's fans, but most of the time that's based solely on reputation and some short compilations. He obviously looks extremely promising and his record is out of this world, but people tend to forget that it's only against other kids. The guy whose record's he's breaking is Donis Avdijaj and most people on here probably never heard of him, which should put things into perspective.

 

[Beaucoup]

His numbers are ridiculous at youth level in Germany. When people first started talking about him he was 12 and looked very old. My instinct was that he was older. These days I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. Dortmund have done well to protect him from that chatter. His skill level is very high so he may be as good as he appears when he steps up.

You would be surprised how much of this still goes on, in my experience it does seem to be worse in Germany.

 

[In Rainbows]

There is nothing blind about not claiming to tell apart a 12 and 13 year old. It’s a ridiculous claim. You aren’t an expert on kids ages capable of telling what age every kid in the world is.

It doesn’t tell you anything, and listing other players is what aboutism. RoShaun Williams was a tank and growing a beard at 16. My teammate at 14 was 6’5. I suppose they were actually lying about their age too?

Your claim is based on nothing but him being African

I only put 13 year olds in order to give him some leniency and make my remark a little more conservative. It's a competition for 14 year olds, and it's rare for 13 year olds to compete. Greenwood looked very small at 13. He was 12 years old and looked like a 14-15 year old.

Here is him at age 12 (almost 13) in 2017.

Here is the 2001 group at United in 2016 (aged 15). So 2 years older yet he doesn't look out of place.

It has nothing to do with being African. There are plenty of 2nd generation African English players and none look as old as he does at that age. He doesn't look out of place, and then you realize he's much younger. Especially when you can get a glimpse of all the 2nd generation African European players in these indoor tournaments where clubs from all of Europe compete at. So it has nothing to do with that unless you think he's the only African (2nd/3rd/1st generation) in Europe.

 

[fck]

What is most impressive is his consistency. The first season at Dortmund U17 he scores 38 in 28 games, next season 50 in 28 and this season he makes the step up to the U19 and scores 38 in 28. This guy is a goal machine. Of course the step up to the Bundesliga is huge but I would be very surprised if he doesn't become a top player.

 

[KM]

Do you think these people are actually watching his youth matches? Every talented youth player gets hyped to death by his club's fans, but most of the time that's based solely on reputation and some short compilations. He obviously looks extremely promising and his record is out of this world, but people tend to forget that it's only against other kids. The guy whose record's he's breaking is Donis Avdijaj and most people on here probably never heard of him, which should put things into perspective.

Schalke player? Used to be great on FM!

 

[Lyricist]

Apparently the next big thing from Dortmund - turns 16 in November so on youth terms now

Any chance we can offer him a contract when he turns 16 before we leave the EU transition in January? (im sure the tabloids would say payback for bellingham but in reality more like with Jurado where there could be a small window of opportunity to nab a talent at a good price)

39 goals in 20 games at U19 level (for a 15 year old this season) apparently as well

obligatory you tube vid

I mean, if you look at the video, even if he was the same age, even if he was a year older, instead of being like 3 years younger or so, those skills have nothing to do with physicality.

The kid has probably the most hype I've ever seen around a German teenager coming through since I've started following football. He hasn't played a minute of professional football yet but basically all German football fans know him. His scoring record across the youth teams has been consistently closer to 2 goals per game than 1 goal a game, despite playing in age brackets above his. Even if he was older than his documents say, he'd still be an incredible talent. Dortmund's u19 coach has stated in the past:
"Moukoko becoming a professional footballer is as certain as hearing an amen during a mass at church".

 

[Okey]

This doesn’t even make any sense.

Moves closer to his real age mates? He’s playing 4 years up. So by that reckoning he’d have to be 8-10 years older than stated. He’s been known since he’s was about 10 and was clearly not an 18-20 year old claiming to be 10.

Ah. I missed the fact he's playing 4 years up from his given age. Yeah that should compensate for any difference in real age. Clearly a huge talent to watch out for. Maybe I've seen too many of our African kids burn bright quickly then fizzle out due to falsified age, so I retain a default scepticism. He's been around a few years so hopefully he's the real deal.

 

[fck]

Here is the 2001 group at United in 2016 (aged 15). So 2 years older yet he doesn't look out of place.

Judging someones age by just looking at them is pretty naive.
You also kind of prove it with your picture of the United U15 because some of them also look like they could be 18 and others who could be 12.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

I can’t be the only one who if the guy who used to play for West Brom surely?

 

[Okey]

I only put 13 year olds in order to give him some leniency and make my remark a little more conservative. It's a competition for 14 year olds, and it's rare for 13 year olds to compete. Greenwood looked very small at 13. He was 12 years old and looked like a 14-15 year old.

Here is him at age 12 (almost 13) in 2017.

Here is the 2001 group at United in 2016 (aged 15). So 2 years older yet he doesn't look out of place.

It has nothing to do with being African. There are plenty of 2nd generation African English players and none look as old as he does at that age. He doesn't look out of place, and then you realize he's much younger. Especially when you can get a glimpse of all the 2nd generation African European players in these indoor tournaments where clubs from all of Europe compete at. So it has nothing to do with that unless you think he's the only African (2nd/3rd/1st generation) in Europe.

This picture for instance...I'll take a lot of convincing that that's a 13 year old kid. I would wager a lot that says it's not. And it's not about being African. It's about being born in Africa, so it's harder to track your real age. Sadly things as simple as that aren't as developed everywhere. My country has served a ban from FIFA age group tournaments on account of age fraud, so I know. It wasn't until 4 Ghanaian boys played an U-21 tournament, then the U-17 one in 2 years time AND the U-21 of same year that FIFA took it real serious.

 

[In Rainbows]

I mean, if you look at the video, even if he was the same age, even if he was a year older, instead of being like 3 years younger or so, those skills have nothing to do with physicality.

The kid has probably the most hype I've ever seen around a German teenager coming through since I've started following football. He hasn't played a minute of professional football yet but basically all German football fans know him. His scoring record across the youth teams has been consistently closer to 2 goals per game than 1 goal a game, despite playing in age brackets above his. Even if he was older than his documents say, he'd still be an incredible talent. Dortmund's u19 coach has stated in the past:
"Moukoko becoming a professional footballer is as certain as hearing an amen during a mass at church".

Yeah, his goal record is still impressive regardless and he looks like a complete player. Compare him to past great u18 goal scorers in England like Greenwood, Balogun, Abraham, Solanke, Dembele, and Simms. He's right there with Greenwood and Moussa Dembele rather than the poacher types that are Abraham, Solanke, Balogun, and Simms.

 

[BalanceUnAutreJoint]

Im not sure how the regional league he plays in work in Germany but he struggled a LOT in Youth League this season, he did score 4 goals but he only scored in 2 different games out of he 7 he's played, 3 of them being against Slavia Prague which means he was kept quiet in 5 games out of 7 and that doesn't align with his domestic performances

 

[Zehner]

Do you think these people are actually watching his youth matches? Every talented youth player gets hyped to death by his club's fans, but most of the time that's based solely on reputation and some short compilations. He obviously looks extremely promising and his record is out of this world, but people tend to forget that it's only against other kids. The guy whose record's he's breaking is Donis Avdijaj and most people on here probably never heard of him, which should put things into perspective.

Nah, I think most have watched highlight videos at some point. His stats are so remarkable that they alone play a huge role to all that hype, too. Personally, I haven't watched a full game of his either so I can only judge based on highlights.

Anyway, I'm not fully convinced as of yet because of stories like Avdijaj, Yesil, etc. Scoring at youth level doesn't mean you can transfer that to your professional career. However, the Dortmund officials seem totally convinced of him and that's a huge argument. They aren't Schalke and know how to handle and rate young players. And they not only want to integrate him in the professional team as soon as possible, they even initiated a change of rules to make that happen even earlier. That's a huge statement and showcases that they rate him ahead of Pulisic and Reyna at the same age, for instance. And as I said: If the last years proved anythimg, then that Dortmund know what they are talking about regarding talent development.

 

[yumtum]

Was expecting him to look really old judging by the comments! He's hardly Joseph Minala.