Chelsea could step up their efforts to sign Borussia Dortmund’s teenage striker Youssoufa Moukoko in the January transfer window, who is also on the radar of Liverpool and Manchester United.
According to 90min, Chelsea are ramping up their efforts to secure the services of 18-year-old German striker Youssoufa Moukoko from Borussia Dortmund. Moukoko is currently a hot property in Europe after his promising start in the Bundesliga this season, and his contract situation means he is a wanted man amongst the European elite.
Regarded as one of the most talented emerging prospects in German football, Moukoko started out his career at St. Pauli’s youth, from where he joined the youth ranks of Dortmund aged 12 before being promoted to the first team during the start of 2020-21 after making a name for himself by putting up big numbers at various youth levels.
He played a combined 620 German top-flight minutes across his first two seasons in the first team, finding the back of the net an impressive five times despite his limited minutes as someone named Erling Haaland was the usual starter.
With Haaland departing for Manchester City last summer, Moukoko has primarily operated as a number nine for Dortmund and is enjoying an excellent season as a prolific goalscorer for them. He has six goals and four assists to his name in just 14 Bundesliga appearances so far.
Moukoko’s prolific goalscoring run for the Black and Yellows in the Bundesliga helped him get a call-up for Hansi Flick’s German national team in the 2022 World Cup, where he became their youngest-ever player in their 2-1 opening loss to Japan.
The youngster is out of contract at the end of the season. That has a number of clubs from around Europe taking an interest, while Dortmund are desperate to tie him down to a new deal for the apparent potential financial rewards from a future sale.
Chelsea, for one, have turned their focus on Moukoko after missing out on the signature of another generational talent, Endrick, to Real Madrid last week. Their need for a striker is exasperated by a potentially season-ending injury to Armando Broja in their mid-season friendly against Aston Villa last Sunday.
While he is still far from the finished product, Moukoko has got an eye for goal, and at such a tender age, he’s got time on his side to improve all the other aspects of his game and become a complete striker.
Manchester United also have their sights set on landing the Borussia Dortmund teenager. Manager Erik ten Hag is said to be eyeing a long-term striker after parting ways with Cristiano Ronaldo in a controversial fashion. Moukoko fits the bill and has the potential to become one of the best strikers in world football.
Liverpool are monitoring the youngster’s progress and will no doubt want to push the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea for his signature, with the attacker an ideal player for Jurgen Klopp’s future plans and would be a risk-free option.
It is not hard to see why some of the biggest clubs on the planet are interested in signing a high-ceiling talent like Moukoko. Now, it remains to be seen if he ends up at any of the aforementioned clubs or decides to go somewhere else.
