Barcelona are said to be willing to sign Borussia Dortmund's supertalent Youssoufa Moukoko as a free agent next summer.
Here I'll explain why Barca should not go for him.
1. The initial expectations from him were much bigger
Youssoufa Moukoko first emerged in football community as a 15-year-old who was tearing the opposition apart in the Borussia Dortmund academy. Back then, he was breaking record after record, showing the goalscoring figures even Erling Haaland would be jealous of – 127 goals and 26 assists in just 84 appearances at a youth level.
As soon as Moukoko joined Dortmund's first team, he showed he's not ready to be the new Haaland yet. While being a quality player who is already part of Germany's national team, he's not at the level he was prophesied to be at.
The 18-year-old is currently 5th in the Bundesliga in goals plus assists (1.05) per 90 minutes this season – and that's the best stat he could boast about so far.
2. He reportedly wants to be a key player
And he will have trouble trying to become one at Barca.
Moukoko is a striker who often drops deep to support attacks or carry the ball forward from deeper positions. In this respect, Blaugrana's version of Robert Lewandowski is very similar to him.
If we compare Moukoko's season heat map to Lewandowski's one, we will see that, although the Pole generally makes more touches, the areas he plays in are quite similar to Moukoko's.
Moukoko's season heat map at Borussia Dortmund, via SofaScore
Lewandowski's season heat map at Barcelona
Moukoko does not play as a left or right winger, so, to become an important player at Barca, he would have to bench Lewandowski.
3. He could demand a lot financially
According to the latest updates, the 18-year-old has rejected Dortmund's €5m-per-year contract offer – this is the money Memphis Depay makes at Barcelona.
Joan Laporta's freshly-instilled wage cap, as well as La Liga's strict financial fair play rules, won't allow Moukoko to demand a lot. He would probably even have to agree on a relatively modest contract at first. Is he willing to make such sacrifices? Based on the latest rumours, not really.
