How teenage sensation Lennart Karl's move to Bayern came about | OneFootball

At just 17, Lennart Karl has already made his breakthrough with Bayern Munich’s senior team, featuring 13 times this season with two goals and an assist to his name.

Karl joined the Bayern campus in the summer of 2022 at just 14 years old – officially on a free transfer. However, Sport Bild reports that the Bavarians provided a five-figure sum for the youngster.

According to the report, Bayern paid €35,000, split between Karl’s former youth clubs Eintracht Frankfurt and Viktoria Aschaffenburg, as then-sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic wanted to ensure the deal caused “no hard feelings.”

It's safe to say the investment has paid off. Karl’s market value has skyrocketed to €20 million on Transfermarkt.de, and all signs suggest this is just the beginning for the highly rated teenager.

"Lennart is a really good footballer with great confidence and special abilities in the final third. He has made big strides," said sporting director Christoph Freund.

"He has tremendous self-belief. He understands the game well, but it’s not always easy to handle so much hype."

Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl believes Karl is handling the growing attention impressively.

"When Vinni (coach Vincent Kompany) feels the young players need to be slightly reined in, he does that. But Lennart’s development is exactly what we hoped for," Eberl said.

"You don’t have to steer this guy too much. He knows what he can do, and he shows it on the pitch. The rest is just guidance, which happens in the dressing room."

Asked if Karl could make Germany’s squad for the World Cup next year, Eberl responded:

"If Lennart plays at this level for a year at Bayern and there’s a spot in the squad, why not?"