What went wrong for Youssoufa Moukoko at Borussia Dortmund?

Youssoufa Moukoko is the youngest debutant and goalscorer in the history of the Bundesliga, and also the youngest player to play a Champions League game. Despite his amazing record and early promise, the highly rated striker is now leaving Borussia Dortmund. 

The 19 year old has agreed terms with Ligue 1 side OGC Nice. He is joining the French side on loan with an option to buy for a fee of less than 20 million euros.

It is worth asking when and how it all went wrong for Moukoko at Borussia Dortmund. After all, he had incredible records in the youth set-up and even at the age of 16 he showed glimpses of what he was capable of when given the chance to play for the first-team.

Youssoufa Moukoko leaves Borussia Dortmund with 18 goals and eight assists in 3162 minutes on the pitch

Moukoko managed to score against the likes of Bayern Munich and Schalke 04, making him the youngest scorer in those games. This made him a fan favourite at Borussia Dortmund. But despite his obvious talent, both Marco Rose and Edin Terzic didn’t place their trust in him as the first-choice striker.

During the 2021/22 season under Rose, Moukoko barely featured. He was only given 484 minutes of playing time despite Erling Haaland's injury struggles. He was given more minutes during Terzic's first season in charge (due to Sebastien Haller's cancer diagnosis and Anthony Modeste's struggles on the pitch).

In 1600 minutes, Moukoko scored seven goals and assisted a further six (averaging a goal or assist every 123 minutes). But last season, Moukoko was limited to a sporadic role once again. He played 758 minutes across 27 games, scoring six goals which means he averaged a goal every 126 minutes.

Moukoko often proved to be an asset when coming off the bench. But Terzic didn’t trust him enough to play him from the start in most games.

Speaking to Fabrizio Romano, Moukoko’s agent Patrick Willaims said last month: "Youssoufa has a huge potential, which unfortunately he couldn‘t show last season. He was promised a lot before he signed, but it wasn't realized. He was always only interested in playing and in his development - not in anything else just like the media reports always claimed.”

It is understandable that Moukoko is frustrated with the lack of playing time at Borussia Dortmund. Even though he sometimes didn’t play at the highest level and struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Bundesliga, he wasn’t given a consistent opportunity to showcase his talent.

BVB decided to put trust in more experienced players and kept signing strikers to play ahead of Moukoko. From Anthony Modeste to Niclas Füllkurg, and Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier this summer - the signings were a clear signal from the BVB bosses that they did not trust Moukoko to lead the attack. That eventually pushed the youngster away from the club.

It is hard to quantify how impactful Moukoko will be in the future, or whether he was ready to play a starring role at Borussia Dortmund. But it is understandable why he wanted a fresh start for his career. Whether BVB will regret their decision remains to be seen.