Youssoufa Moukoko extremely motivated to make his mark next season
Youssoufa Moukoko is determined to get more playing time and make his mark in first-team football next season.
Youssoufa Moukoko is coming off a difficult first full season in professional football, with injuries preventing him from making the impact he would have liked. But the highly rated Borussia Dortmund striker is now setting his sights on getting more playing time and scoring more goals next season.
After scoring a brace for the Germany U-21s on Tuesday, Moukoko said (via Kicker):
"“I definitely want to gain more match practice, score more goals and stay injury-free at all costs. Now I have a break and can take a breather, and then I can fully go for it next season, I’m extremely motivated.”"
Moukoko knows expectations are high, but he is confident that he can handle the pressure. “You just have to learn to deal with it. I think I can handle it. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone – just myself. That’s what I’ve learned.”
After having to deal with a number of injury problems over the last 12 months, Moukoko is now doing everything he can to avoid getting injured.
"“That (getting injured) was very hard for me at first. But you also learn a lot from injuries, I also learned how to deal with them. At the moment I’m doing everything I can to avoid getting injured in the first place, because next year I definitely want to go on the attack.”"
Lack of playing time is an issue that has put Youssoufa Moukoko’s future at Borussia Dortmund in doubt. The 17 year old was limited to 482 minutes of playing time in the recently concluded season, and it was reported in March that he is considering a move away from Dortmund in the summer.
Moukoko’s contract with Borussia Dortmund is set to expire at the end of the season. The BVB bosses have made it clear that they want to extend his contract, and Hans-Joachim Watzke even said recently that there is a decent chance he will sign an extension. But if an agreement cannot be reached, the Germany U-21s international could well be sold this summer.
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Moukoko has found his form in recent weeks, and has scored in each of his last three appearances for club and country.