When Tottenham fans look at the attacking lineup of their opponents, FC Copenhagen, before Tuesday’s Champions League tie, a few familiar names may spring out. Mohamed Elyounoussi, formerly of Southampton and Celtic, has probably been the Danish club’s most dangerous player this season, topping their scoring and assists charts. Jordan Larsson, son of Henrik Larsson, is hugely improved this year and recently earned a recall to the Sweden squad. But perhaps the biggest surprise will be the name of Youssoufa Moukoko, the former Borussia Dortmund wonderkid who was rated as perhaps the biggest prospect in world football a few years ago.
The hype around Moukoko in 2020 was astonishing, even before he made his Dortmund debut. As a 14-year-old in 2018-19, the Cameroon-born forward scored a record 50 league goals for the German side’s under-17s, and at 13 had declared to Bild his intention to win the Ballon d’Or. Promoted to the under-19s the following season, he scored 34 goals in 20 games, also providing nine assists. A day after his 16th birthday in November 2020, Moukoko came off the bench for Erling Haaland – the teammate and neighbour who used to drive him to training and once called him “the biggest talent in the world” – to become the youngest Bundesliga player of all time. Before Christmas he became the youngest player to appear in the Champions League and score in the Bundesliga. Moukoko’s rise was unprecedented, records seemingly falling every week, and it appeared like the birth of the next global superstar.
