Record-breaking Moukoko the biggest talent in the world – Haaland

Erling Haaland hailed Youssoufa Moukoko as “the biggest talent in the world” after the teenager became the youngest ever Bundesliga player on Saturday.

Moukoko replaced four-goal hero Haaland in the closing stages of Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 rout of Hertha Berlina at the Olympiastadion.

The Cameroon-born striker’s Bundesliga debut came just a day after his 16th birthday, breaking a record former Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin set when he was aged 16 years, 11 months and one day.

Haaland lavished praise on prodigy Moukoko after the Norway international found the back of the net four times in a devastating second-half display from Lucien Favre’s side.

“I think he’s the biggest talent in the world right now,” Haaland told ESPN. “Sixteen years and one day, that’s quite amazing. He has a big career ahead of him.”

A smiling Haaland added: “‘I’m over 20 years, I’m getting old now. That’s how it is.”

1 – Aged 16 years and one day @BlackYellow’s Yousouffa #Moukoko becomes the youngest player to ever appear in the Bundesliga – Moukoko beats Nuri Sahin’s old record by exactly eleven months. Prospect. #BSCBVB pic.twitter.com/viFUp2RFfM

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) November 21, 2020

Dortmund boss Favre will be patient with Moukoko and was eager to play down the hype.

“He’s trained with us now for 14 days. Seven or eight players were away on international duty. It was 5-2 and it was good for him to play his first Bundesliga game but of course he has to keep working,” Favre said.

“He’s very, very young. We have a lot of attacking players, a lot who haven’t played today.”