What Chelsea and Man Utd must promise Moukoko before transfer

James Shearman

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:00 CDT
• 3 min read

Borussia Dortmund youngster Youssoufa Moukoko is wanted by Chelsea and Manchester United, among other top European clubs.

Moukoko is one football's top prospects, but his contract situation is what has caused a stir in the transfer market.

The 18-year-old's deal is up at the end of the 2022-23 season, meaning he could leave Dortmund as a free agent next summer.

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The likes of Chelsea and Manchester United are now battling it out to sign the German forward.

But Moukoko is happy at Dortmund, so it would take an important offer for him to decide to leave.

First of all, the Bundesliga club have offered the wonderkid a contract worth £4.4 million per year, while he is asking for closer to £6m per year.

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This won't be a problem for Chelsea, Manchester United, or any of the clubs in the picture.

The other key factor is playing time. Moukoko realises that he is benefiting from first-team football at Dortmund and would be reluctant to give that up to sit on the bench elsewhere.

The striker's next club will have to promise that he find himself in the starting lineup more often than not.

Is Moukoko ready for Premier League?

This time last year, Moukoko was very much still a kid playing a man's game.

He had talent, as seen by the fact he was picking up minutes as a 16-year-old, but he wasn't fully developed by any stretch of the imagination.

Fast forward to the present day, however, and he has bulked up to the point where he can mix it with the pros.

He's been trusted as Dortmund's replacement for Erling Haaland - not an easy man to follow - but he has done a fine job so far.

In just 14 league appearances so far this term, the Germany international has scored six goals and assisted a further four as Dortmund sit in sixth place in the table.

And, it's worth noting that he is still just 18 years old, so he's far from hitting his peak.

In fact, it may be 10 years before Moukoko becomes the best version of himself because the late-20s is when a striker usually hits top form.

Signing him would be an investment for the future as well as the present for Chelsea or Manchester United.