Dortmund star is the "best wonderkid in FM history"

The first part of FM21's Winter Update is live, which has brought a whole load of transfers, ability improvements and bug fixes to the Sports Interactive smash.

Perhaps the most exciting addition of them all is new wonderkids arriving in the game.

One kid to rule them all

You may not have heard of him, Youssoufa Moukoko, but the Borussia Dortmund teenager looks to be the next big thing - in both FM and real life.

The 16-year-old has already played 13 times for Borussia Dortmund, scoring two goals - with his opportunities arriving thanks to his ridiculous at youth level.

For Dortmund's U17 & U19 sides, Moukoko has scored 141 goals in just 88 games.

Born in Cameroon, the striker plays for Germany U20s, and we wouldn't be surprised to see him fast-tracked to the full national team.

FM 21 Winter Update Development

Renowned Football Manager platform FM Scout has taken us through a Moukoko breakdown.

In terms of stats, we can see Moukoko has 16 dtribbling, 15 finish, 15 first touch, 15 agility and 15 natural fitness - which are remarkable for a 15-year-old (that's how old he will be at the start of your FM save).

You would imagine that most of these abilities will improve to a near-perfect 20 by the time the young German reaches his peak.

At this early stage of his career, Moukoko is valued at just £1.1 million with wages of just £55 a week.

Aged 18

FM Scout then fasts forward three years to track his growth - with the now 18-year-old Moukoko haveing 18 agility, 17 dribbling, 17 first touch and 16s on a range of stats including finishing, anticipation, off the ball, acceleration, balance, natural fitness and pace.

It's interesting to note that he has turned his back on the German national team and elected to play for the country of his birth, Cameroon, instead - with five goals in his first 14 caps.

(Credit: FM Scout)

Speaking of goals, Moukoko scored 15 goals in the 2020/21 Bundesliga season, before hitting 32 the following year, and 29 goals in 2022/23.

You can clearly see Moukoko's development in his value, rising to £60 million with his wages now at a much more respectable £39,000 a week.

Aged 20

FM Scout then sim ahead two more years until he is 20, where his stats have got to 20 off the ball, 20 agility, 18 dribbling, 18 anticipation, 17 first touch, 17 composure, 17 decisions and 17 balance.

(Credit: FM Scout)

The goals have slightly dried up, however, with just the 10 goals coming in that Bundesliga season, but his Cameroon return is 26 goals in 39 caps.

The forward's value continues to improve, now up to £66 million, with his wages now £180,000 a week.

Aged 25

In the next sim ahead, we can see at age 25, Moukoko is entering his prime.

The Cameroon international has netted 87 goals in 88 caps now - lifting his country to ninth in the world rankings.

(Credit: FM Scout)

He has 20 anticipation, 20 off the ball, 19 first touch, 19 composure, 19 decisions, 19 acceleration and 19 agility stats.

He's now valued at £82 million, with whopping wages of £325,000 a week, but it's hard to complain with 17 goals in the European Cup (matching Cristiano Ronaldo's record), and a massive 51 goals in the Bundesliga that year - not quite eclipsing the 59 he scored in 2027/28.

In terms of honours, Moukoko has lifted BVB into a European heavyweight, winning the Bundesliga nine years running and the European Cup in 2025 and 2030.

Time to buy

Of course, the above is just a simulation and does not mean your FM save will play out in the same way.

It should give you plenty of encouragement to sign Moukoko, however, or even to begin your save with Borussia Dortmund - and utilising him in tandem with Erling Haaland.

If you do wish to buy him, we recommend doing it as soon as possible with this value accelerating every season.

Given he ist just 15 at the beginning of FM21, you'll have to wait until he's 18 to sign him - and even then he could cost £100 million or more - but he'll be worth it.

Editor's insight

The key factor in all of this is Moukoko's Potential Ability.

In-game that will likely be shown by 4 or 5 stars - but this is only your assistant coach's assessment.

Jump into the Football Manager 2021 Editor and you can see Moukoko's Potential Ability which is a range between 170-200 - this means that when you start your save his PA will be a fixed number in that range.

You can check what his in-game PA is by either downloading the in-game editor or picking up a free tool such as the FM Scout Editor.

Either way, you should be making the move, especially with is Current Ability a useful 115, and if his in-game is 180+ it's a no brainer - whatever the price.