Youssoufo Moukoko
Youssoufo Moukoko’s season has been the biggest disappointment from all of the current BVB loanees. The German started his career spectacularly, becoming the youngest-ever player to feature in the Bundesliga at just 16 years and one day old. Weeks later, he became the youngest-ever player to play in the Champions League at 16 years and 18 days old. Ten days after that, he set another record: the Bundesliga’s youngest goalscorer in history. Destined for greatness, Moukoko can now barely get on the field for French club OGC Nice.
A great season in 2022/23 provided 11 goal contributions in 1134 Bundesliga minutes at just 18 years old. The following season, Moukoko only played 613 Bundesliga minutes despite having five goals in his limited time. This lack of minutes led to controversy about his minutes and an eventual loan move for the 2024/25 season to French club Nice.
The French side has an option to purchase Moukoko for 18 million euros, which will likely not be exercised by the end of the season. The player's role for the French side has been their “midweek striker,” as a majority of his playing time has come through the Europa League. Only two of his ten starts have come via the league. Now that Nice are no longer in European competition (they finished 35/36 in the group stage), Moukoko is glued to the bench. He’s only played once in the last eight matches — twice being left out of the matchday squad entirely. The former World Cup player sits behind Evann Guessand and Gaëtan Laborde in the depth chart, so an increase in minutes is unlikely. The two players in front of him have 18 and 13 goal contributions this season, respectively.
Moukoko’s season stats in all competitions, according to Transfermarkt, are two goals and two assists in 817 minutes, which equals 204 minutes per goal contribution. Opposingly, his 2022/23 Bundesliga season had him at a rate of 103 minutes per goal contribution. The stats show why he likely won't stay at Nice and may find himself back at BVB next season. His transfer valuation has decreased from €30 million to €10 million since the 2023 season, likely due to his poor output this campaign.
Youssoufa enters the final year of his contract next season, where he reportedly earns between €3-6 million per year. He can still be used as a backup striker next season, or Dortmund might sell him to help balance the books. Considering his play this year and contract length, he likely would not command a high fee for his transfer.