At the age of just 16, Paul Wanner became the youngest Bundesliga player in the history of FC Bayern at the beginning of January. Now the great midfield talent has extended his expiring contract on a long-term basis.
Experts see Paul Wanner as one of the greatest talents in German football, in a category with Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala or Kai Havertz. A lot of advance praise, which the teenager will now try to live up to in the course of the coming years. Wanner will get the opportunity immediately as a permanent part of Julian Nagelsmann’s professional squad. Assignments in the 2nd team (Regionalliga), the U 19 or the Youth League are not planned.
As we reported exclusively in January, Bayern’s bosses Oliver Kahn, Hasan Salihamidzic and Marco Neppe (technical director) declared the Wanner case a matter for the bosses and fought to keep him on. After all, the national competition (especially Bayer Leverkusen) had not failed to notice the talent maturing on the FC Bayern campus. A departure without a transfer fee would have been a serious blow to the image of the record champion. But the Bavarians were successful with their courtship. The Wanner side liked how much Salihamidzic and Neppe, in particular, put their shoulders to the wheel.
Alonso’s old shirt number
Nagelsmann is also considered a supporter and played an important role in convincing Wanner to stay. “Paul is a special talent that we want to promote. Me and my coaching team will try to live up to the demands he makes on us. On the other hand, we also expect Paul to always put everything he has into it,” said Bayern’s coach.
There are legitimate hopes that Wanner will become the first real homegrown player from the campus, which opened in 2017, to make a lasting impression in the pros. Musiala only spent a few months there after his move from Chelsea FC as a 16-year-old and does not count in that category. Nevertheless, he serves as a role model for Wanner, who wears the shirt number 14 like Xabi Alonso once did. After all, Musiala established himself in the professional team at the age of 17. “My childhood dream has come true. I’ve been playing for FC Bayern since I was 12 and always wanted to become a professional here,” FC Bayern quoted Wanner as saying on their website.
Soon in the German U21?
Wanner was primarily interested in a sustainable sporting perspective, which FC Bayern has now apparently shown him. The school situation – the student still wants to take the Abitur – has also been clarified. The next exciting thing will be which national team Wanner will play for in the future, as the Austrian association is also courting him. His mother comes from the Alpine republic. It is said that he will no longer play for the DFB’s U17 team. It is quite possible that Wanner will soon be a topic for the German U21s.
