Youssoufa Moukoko and Paris Brunner were supposed to be Borussia Dortmund’s two future superstars. Both stormed through the Black and Yellows’ youth teams as top talents, but both said goodbye in the last summer transfer window – without leaving a lasting mark on the first team. Moukoko moved on loan to OGC Nice, Brunner to AS Monaco for four million euros, who then loaned him straight on to Belgium.
Both players left Borussia Dortmund in the hope of taking the next big steps in their young, but recently stalled, careers elsewhere. Almost four weeks later, it is time for an initial interim conclusion: How will things go for the two youngsters after the start of the 2024/25 season?
First of all: things are not looking rosy for Moukoko and Brunner so far. The hopes of more playing time have not (yet) been fulfilled. Brunner has only made two brief appearances for loan club Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League and the Conference League qualifiers. Against top clubs FC Brugge and KRC Genk, he was only able to play on the bench for 90 minutes.
And that is unlikely to change any time soon, as top striker Kevin Denkey is a regular at Cercle Brugge. He scored an impressive 28 goals in 39 competitive matches last season and was directly involved in three goals in 24/25. Brunner is currently limited to the role of back-up, as other players also seem to have the edge on the wing positions. In the 2:3 defeat against Genk, head coach Miron Muslic recently preferred to bring on Kazeem Olaigbe and Bruninho.
Things aren’t looking much better for Moukoko these days either. The 19-year-old moved to Nice just before the transfer deadline on August 28th and thus missed the entire pre-season, but he has already played four seasons at professional level and shouldn’t need much time to get going. Nevertheless, the centre-forward sat on the bench for 90 minutes in the 4-1 away win in Angers and only played 21 minutes in the 0-2 defeat to Olympique Marseille.
The Dortmund loanee could have recommended himself for more playing time, but missed a great chance to score in the 78th minute, shooting well wide from just five meters away. Not a successful application for a regular place. The former Dortmund duo can only hope that the coming months will be more successful. But the first impression is definitely disappointing.
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