Wunderkids

It is a blank cheque to build the most exciting young starting XI in world football.

Steve Crossman has been joined by experts to discuss the latest addition to the team.

Each player must be young and have the potential to become the next superstars in their position.

The players who are still on the verge of making the breakthrough into the big time are not the obvious names.

In this week's final episode, we finish off our starting XI with a forward who is described by Crossman as "the wonder kid behind the wonder kid" at the German club - 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko.

If you want to look at those that have made our XI so far, just scroll to the bottom of this page.

The player to fill Haaland's boots at Dortmund?

Youssoufa Moukoko
Moukoko has scored four goals in 26 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund's first team, although he has only made three starts so far

With the talents of 21-year-old Haaland already well known, the Norway strikers is too mainstream for our series.

Moukoko is a Germany youth international and he was selected as a forward by us.

The forward, who has faced racist abuse and had to deal with doubts about his age during an exciting rise, has been blocked from the first team by Haaland.

If Moukoko's team-mate does leave for Manchester City or Real Madrid this summer, he could be the player to benefit.

Moukoko moved to Germany at the age of 10 after being raised by his grandparents. He pitched up at St Pauli after living with his father.

Moukoko had a lot of talent even though he did not have football boots. He started scoring goals in St Pauli's under-13s team after impressing everyone in his first training session with his finishing skills despite wearing running trainers.

The scouts from other clubs were attracted by that.

Moukoko was promoted to the senior squad for the 2020-21 season after scoring 127 goals in 84 games for the under 17 and under 19 sides.

He was only 16 when he was eligible to play competitive matches, but has since scored four goals in 26 first-team appearances.

What does the expert say?

Patrick Berger is the chief reporter for SPORT1 television.

Haaland is a big fan of Moukoko. He said he had never seen a 15-year-old like that before.

Moukoko has a lot of pressure on him, so he needs to be more patient and cool.

He has big, big dreams and he wants to achieve them. He wants to win the Ballon d'Or.

He needs a little bit of time to adapt, but I think he is strong enough.

He has had to deal with a lot of things, including racist abuse and people questioning his age.

This was a big problem for him. I know it was hard for him because people in Germany and Europe didn't think he was his age, but he was reading everything that people wrote in the media and on social media.

It was unfair. When you see and speak to him, you see that he is just 17 years old.

It was very hard for him, but there were a lot of people who helped him.

Where will he be in four or five years? Haaland is very young, and he will be at the age that he is when we are talking about that.

Moukoko has a lot of time to develop. He has a great career ahead of him and should stay at the club.

Erling Braut Haaland and Youssoufa Moukoko after a Borussia Dortmund game
Moukoko became the Bundesliga's youngest player when he made his top-flight debut for Dortmund in November 2020, replacing Haaland during the second half of a 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin - one day after turning 16

What does the fan say?

The Buzz09 fan app is run by a supporter of the team.

Moukoko has everything you need to be a successful player in the game.

We have seen him score with his head, left foot, right foot and from almost every position.

I don't think he is ready to replace Haaland on a full-time basis. Haaland has been injured a lot this season and when Moukoko did get a chance he wasn't up to first-team football.

He has suffered some injuries of his own. He scored a lot of goals for the under 17s and under 19s in his youth team record.

Who else made our Wunderkids XI?

BBC Wunderkids team
  • Week 10: Jurrien Timber, Ajax defender
  • Week 9: Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich midfielder
  • Week 8: Etienne Green, Saint-Etienne goalkeeper
  • Week 7: Josko Gvardiol, RB Leipzig defender
  • Week 6: Kamaldeen Sulemana, Rennes winger
  • Week 5: Gavi, Barcelona midfielder
  • Week 4: Kaiky, Santos defender
  • Week 3: Ryan Gravenberch, Ajax defender
  • Week 2: Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen winger
  • Week 1: Julian Alvarez, Manchester City striker
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