The German born-Cameroonian joined the Coface arena outfit in the summer of 2011 after leaving Hamburg on a costless. He has represented Germany at under-19 and under-21 level, but nowadays represents African side Cameroon and has done so since 2010. He is yet to fully solidify his starting place for the o-fives this season, partly down to the magnificent form of other players like Johannes Geis or Nicolai Muller. So far He has made thirteen of his twenty-eight appearances from the bench, however don't let this stat dampen your opinion on his ability, as he has been one of many standouts for Mainz this season.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has deployed Choupo-Moting in no less than four different positions. Being primarily used on as an attacking midfielder, he's also seen himself placed in centre forward, left midfield and as a left forward. He has been most successful coming off of the bench scoring five of his nine goals after doing so , making the "super sub" tag appropriate.
Despite standing at 6ft 3", his strengths don't lie completely in heading, but infact in other aspects such as dribbling, something most oftenly perfected by those of a smaller stature to him. He is also known for his liking of cutting in and playing long balls to team mates. In a nutshell, He is direct, tall, fairly fast for his height and is capable of causing havoc for opposition defenders with his stupendous dribbling ability. Offensively he offers lots and the combination of mostly himself, Geis, Soto and Müller in the Mainz midfield has been very successful.
This season he has averaged 2.3 shots a game , 0.8 key passes a game and 3.4 dribbles a game. Defensively he offers very little in the way of help averaging a tackle a game at most. Passing wise he is fairly successful and makes roughly 3 out of every 4 passes with an average accuracy of 78% from an average of 20 per game.
Choupo-Moting is yet to sign a contract extension with 'Die Karnevalsverien', despite coach Tuchel saying there was to be an offer on the table soon. In addition to this he said he needed "time" to the clubs sporting director. Surely it raises concerns from a Mainz' fan perspective as one of their key players considers his options. The Hamburg born man is in high demand with the likes of Hertha Berlin ,Wolfsburg and Hannover allegedly after his signature.
A shock return to previous club Hamburg has also been rumoured. Hertha look set to lose star man Adrian Ramos in the summer and replacing him with Choupo-Moting could be very likely. Although replacing Ramos with Choupo-Moting isn't exactly like for like in some aspects, Choupo-Moting can still offer things Ramos couldn't. For example, his dribbling qualities and willingness to take on players. A move to Hannover would almost certainly be a step down for him and finally, a move to Mainz champions league challengers Wolfsburg looks equally as possible as a move to Hertha.
Whether Choupo-Moting's form from this term can carry on from this season to next is another question. A move away may not necessarily do him justice, as it's not unheard of for players to swiftly realise the grass is not always greener. Transfer speculation aside, Choupo-Moting has thrived in Tuchel's system at Mainz and has been an unexpected integral player in Mainz charge for the Champions League.