DORTMUND’S 15-year-old sensation Youssoufa Moukoko is so good, that the Bundesliga have changed their age eligibility rules in order to let him play.
Previously players have not been allowed to play in Germany’s top-flight until they are 16-and-a-half.
Moukoko scored a stunning 34 goals in 20 games for Dortmund’s under-19s this seasonCredit: Getty – Contributor
But such have been the waves caused by Moukoko’s rapid rise, that this has now been lowered to just 16.
A striker by trade, the German teen has left observers flabbergasted by his incredible ability at such a young age.
But his unbelievable progress is nothing new.
At the age of just 12, pre-teen Moukoko was playing for Dortmund’s under-17s and Germany’s under-16s.
He scored an astonishing 90 goals in 56 games at under-17 level, before bagging 34 in 20 this season for the under-19s – despite having started the season as a 14-year-old.
Ahead of turning 16 on November 20, Moukoko has already been training on-and-off with Lucien Favre’s first-team squad since January.
And after the Bundesliga’s new ruling, dubbed the “Moukoko rule”, he could make his first-team bow in the winter – and become Dortmund’s youngster-ever player.
The current record was set by Nuri Sahin back in 2005, when he made his debut at 16 years, 11 months and one day – before going on to play for Real Madrid and Liverpool.
In beating this record, Moukoko will become the latest in a long line of Dortmund kids to have made themselves teenage superstars at Signal Iduna Park.
Impressive Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old under Thomas Tuchel in 2016.
And more recently, Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna have made fans sit up and take notice.
The German giants have also spent around £25million on Birmingham City starlet Jude Bellingham, who himself only turned 17 last month.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said of Moukoko last November: “He’s an outstanding talent and we want him to learn how to train and play with adults.”
And thanks to the “Moukoko rule”, this November it appears that Zorc can get his wish.
Moukoko average a goal or an assist every 40 minutes during the 2019-20 seasonCredit: Getty – Contributor
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
