The agreement with Nice included an €18m (£15m/$21m) purchase option, but Moukoko only scored twice in 22 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, so it was no surprise when they decided not to trigger that clause. The Dortmund loanee sat out all of Nice’s final 14 league games, and manager Frank Haise admitted in March that he just wasn’t doing enough to force his way into the team.
“He is training well but it isn’t easy. We have six, seven, eight players up front,” Haise told reporters. “If they can’t express themselves, score and assist… I have choices to make and can’t keep throwing players back in.” That sad fact is, Moukoko had lost the fearlessness that made him so thrilling to watch at the start of his Dortmund career.
He returned to Signal Iduna Park in June, but only so BVB officials could arrange his permanent exit. The problem was, Moukoko’s stock was lower than ever. Another chance in one of Europe’s top-five leagues was never likely to present itself, and so Dortmund bit Copenhagen’s hand off when they came in with their cut-price offer.
There was a tinge of sadness in the air when Moukoko was officially unveiled by the Danish Superliga champions last summer. The Germany international was also left with mixed emotions, as he admitted in his exit interview with Dortmund’s official website.
“There are two hearts beating in my chest right now. It’s not easy to say goodbye to a club like BVB, because this club, my team-mates, coaches, support staff and the brilliant fans will always mean a lot to me,” he said. “On the other hand, after a difficult year in France, it’s time to make a completely fresh start in a new location – with optimism and enormous ambition. FC Copenhagen offers me every opportunity to do that. I would like to thank the entire BVB family; I will always be a fan and I hope to see you again in the Champions League.”
