Will MOSSEF BAKRAR REALLY REALLY FOR NYCFC?

To date, Mounsef Bakrar has experienced the worst drought of his New York FC career. The striker, who was not justified to support the front line, which was not justified the reported fee of US dollars, which costs it to sign it in 2023, did not justify the reported fee of 2 million US dollars.

When the club had borrowed the 19-year-old striker Jovan Mijatović to Oh Leuven in Belgium at the beginning of the season, it solved a way for Bakrar to raise a role in the NYCFC attack. Instead, Bakrar stagnated on the bench and could not produce when it was called.

When the boys have difficulty finding a consistent source of goals outside of Talisman Alonso Martínez, Bakrar's lack of effects and apparently stunted development since his arrival in the Big Apple has left many questions whether the time of the Algerian to prove itself.

A spirit in front of the gate

The last competition game in which Bakrar scored a goal for New York City FC was a 4-2 defeat against Columbus crew last August. In the period since then, the boys in Blue had been in the MLS Cup Playoffs, head coach Nick Cushing, Jansen, sold Santiago Rodríguez and played the first 14 games of the 2025 mls season.

The world has also changed: the United States have a new president, the Vatican has a new Pope and Liverpool has a new trophy. But the man who wears No. 9 jersey for New York City has not scored a single goal for his club.

It is still extremely that Bakrar has only one shot on the goal this season. This is the second nicked player of an attacking player, only over Agustín Ojeda, who has no shots-and even sets him with defensive players like Tayvon Gray, Justin Haak and Jonny Shore.

Bakrar landed two shots on the goal of the one in the one non-League game, which New York City has played this year when he was at the center of the team's 1-0 cupset loss against Pittsburgh Riverhound against Pittsburgh Riverhound of the team in the second department. But the striker was effectively closed by Pittsburgh's defense and only achieved three touches in the opposition's box.

This does not mean that the Algerian was also left on an island. Although the boys swung in Blue in only three exact crosses, Jansen's side created 10 chances and sent 83 passes into the last third. Nevertheless, Bakrar only recorded a total of 20 touches, the few of the New York starters.

Bakrar ended the match with three shots. But he never seriously worried a Riverhound Backline, which had given up two goals for North Carolina FC just four days earlier.

In the few moments, the Algerian was on the ball, the striker was tame when he questioned the backline of the river dogs, and tried only a dribble during the loss, albeit a dribble. And the two shots of the striker at their destination? Both led to routine savings for Riverhound's Shot-Stopper Eric Dick when he excluded New York City.

The weakest link

It is a fair claim that Bakrar is currently the weakest connection in an already lackluster New York Forward core.

As a club, the boys in Blue scored 15 goals in the MLS this season, the fifth envy of the Eastern Conference. Martínez alone is responsible for more than half of these goals, scores seven and supports another. Both Julián Fernández and Hannes Wolf each have four target contributions, so that only Agustín Ojeda and Bakrar cannot yet add the strikers into the score. But Ojeda still managed to make more shots than the Algerian, with nine attempts on the wing.

New York City FC | 2025 attack statistics

player	G	A	XG	S	Sot	Begins	Apps	Min	G/90	GI/90
Alonso Martínez	7	1	9.51	49	25	13	13	1145	0.55	0.63
Julián Fernández	2	2	1.53	21	6	9	14	719	0.25	0.50
Hannes Wolf	3	1	3.46	27	7	13	14	1130	0.24	0.32
Mitja Ilenič	1	1	0.42	10	2	8	12	834	0.11	0.22
Keaton Parks	1	0	1.57	11	6	10	11	820	0.11	0.11
Maxi Moralez	1	0	1.11	13	3	14	14	1145	0.08	0.08
Andrés Perea	0	0	1.12	9	2	4	8	331	0.00	0.00
Agustín Ojeda	0	0	0.47	9	0	4	14	498	0.00	0.00
Jonny Shore	0	0	0.42	9	1	9	13	874	0.00	0.00
Justin Haak	0	0	0.39	7	1	14	14	1236	0.00	0.00
Monsef Bakrar	0	0	0.34	6	1	3	13	314	0.00	0.00
Tayvon Gray	0	0	0.05	1	1	6	7	395	0.00	0.00

In contrast, Bakrar has made six shots with only one on the finish this season. The midfielder Keaton Parks (11 shots, 6 SOT, 1 gate) and Andrés Perea (9 shots, 2 SOT) have proven to be more threatening in the future, although they played most of the season as a profound No. 6 or NO 8 and only agree with the attack if the game runs this.

In order to make things worse, Bakrar not only remains behind his striker with skyscrapers, but the majority of his squad. With the fewest goals of all high -ranking strikers in the squad, Bakrar scores the second lowest goals (XG) Pro 90 in the club with O.34 XG. This metric places Bakrar behind defensive players like Shore (0.42) and Haak (0.39). Gray (0.05), a right -back, is the only player behind him, but this is partly due to the fact that the Jamaican international misses seven games this season.

Most of the players of the attack in New York City are below average, and behind the gate that their statistics are, indicate that they should score. But even then Bakrar's lack of productivity stands up.

Remove the declines

Bakrar's goal problems are nothing new. Since he signed for the association for the association in July 2023, he only scored eight league goals -that is eight goals in 62 games in league games and cup competitions or a goal every 355 minutes. The rule of thumb is that a professional striker on average at least one goal every 180 minutes on average. The BAKRAR evaluation rate this year is almost twice as high as average.

MOSSENF BAKRAR | New York statistics up to year, MLS

Year	G	A	XG	S	Sot	Begins	Apps	Mins	G/90	GI/90
2025	0	0	0.34	6	1	3	13	314	0.00	0.00
2024	4	0	6.36	61	20	14	31	1360	0.27	0.27
2023	3	0	6.11	28	9	10	10	760	0.36	0.36

In 2023, when Bakrar made 10 appearances, he made 28 shots, which made 2.8 shots per game and scored three goals. In 2024, when he made 31 appearances, he made 61 shots, which spoke almost 2.0 shots per game and scored six goals. This season is generally considered a bust when Bakrar Martínez lost its starting place. But 2024 looks like a career year compared to 2025: This season, Bakar's six shots in 13 appearances work only 0.5 shots per game.

Bakrar's game has returned a significant step. He shoots less and tries less dribble, so that he is increasingly reducing his influence over the course of the seasons.

It can be unfair to hold the guilt on the shoulders of the Algerian. After all, football is a team sport, and many others in the NYC squad have not made their weight in the past few weeks.

But there are opportunities for Bakrar. He just didn't take her. In each of his 14 appearances in 2025, Bakrar lost in advance and apparently no way to use the team's opportunities. Bakrar's ability to get behind it has not proven to be effective or its overall selection.

When Bakrar saw the chances of seeing the river dogs against the river dogs in the US Open Cup, he could not deliver.

What is going wrong?

The quality golf between the options of NYC on No. 9 -slot is astonishing if you remember that Bakrar was one of the great commitments in the summer of 2023 to join the club. Bakrar was the valuable striker to run the line for New York City FC in 2023, not Martínez.

Could it be a problem with Pascal Jansen's tactical setup? It is unlikely that, in view of the Dutch head coach born in English, attack systems resembles those of the former boss Cushing. Regardless of whether it is a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, Bakrar has experience in both systems. In the early days of his NYC parade, he even recorded a half-friendly success and scored three goals in the last 10 games of the 2023 MLS season.

What about playing time? Could the Algerier still fight for the club due to inconsistent appearances? This is the more likely answer to the problem, albeit a lazy one.

Consistent minutes and appearances are crucial for the players to build trust and ultimately improve their shape. Bakrars 314 minutes are among the lowest in the first team. The only players with less playing time are Nico Cavallo (232 minutes), a deep sign in the MLS superdraft at the beginning of the season; Strahinja Tanasijević (222 minutes), a backup center back with a hand to earn yellow and red cards; And Aiden O'Neill (197), a midfielder who came to the team less than two weeks ago.

Will he see even less playing time? Jansen left Bakrar on the bench for the first time this season in the goalless draw with DC United. Although the team wanted to go for a goal, Jansen was looking for other players when he made his five substitutes and decided in a desperate attempt to achieve Ojeda in the 81st minute.

When Jansen arrived in January, he talked about bringing a “ball -proof thinking” into the squad and longed to transform the squad into a more aggressive and stable unit while concentrating on the development of young players like Bakrar. This was not hoped for like many in the front office.

While creativity in connection with NYCFCS No. 9 has certainly left a lot to wish this season, Bakrar's inability to put the ball on the frame – let alone an opposing goalkeeper – have the door open to speculate that the time of Algerian in the Big Apple.

And with fans of the boys in Blue, who attack more attacking reinforcements this summer, it remains to be seen whether Bakrar will remain a NYCFC player after the opening of the summer transfer window on July 24th.