"Youssoufa Moukoko will adapt to the Bundesliga" - Borussia Dortmund's Emre Can
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Emre Can believes teammate Youssoufa Moukoko "will adapt to the Bundesliga" after the 16-year-old made his third top-flight outing on Saturday.
Moukoko became the youngest Bundesliga player of all time when he made his debut just a day after turning 16 on 21 November, playing the last five minutes of Dortmund’s 5-2 win away to Hertha Berlin.
The Germany youth international was handed 23 minutes of action the following week in a surprise 2-1 defeat away to Cologne and played the entire second half on Matchday 10 in a 1-1 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt in what head coach Lucien Favre later explained was a tactical switch.
Watch: Can: "Youssoufa Moukoko will adapt to the Bundesliga"
"A striker is important for us because of his movement and runs behind the defence, which gives you more space," he said, having started midfielder Julian Brandt up front in the absence of injured star forward Erling Haaland, before bringing Moukoko on.
Dortmund improved with teenager leading the line in the second half, and equalised through Gio Reyna's strike in the 56th minute.
"It's crazy that he’s just 16," Can told bundesliga.com afterwards. "You know he has so much talent, and of course it's a little bit different for him to play here [in the Bundesliga] because everything is quicker and the defenders are stronger.
"You have to adapt to that, but he will do that I think. He has a big career in front of him."
Watch: Reyna: "Youssoufa Moukoko's a top talent"
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Reyna, who played alongside Moukoko in 11 league matches for the Dortmund U19s in the U19 Bundesliga-West in the first half of last season, is keen to renew the duo's attacking partnership in which they registered a combined 20 goals and 13 assists in that period.
"He's only been here [in the senior squad] for a month now maybe, but obviously he's a top talent," said the USA international. "Hopefully we can keep on building a relationship and keep on creating goals and getting wins for each other in the future."
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