Even as a teenager! Bayern had Brown on their radar years ago | OneFootball

Nathaniel Brown’s transfer to FC Bayern is official. It has now come to light that the record champions had their eye on the national team player many years ago—long before he made his breakthrough in professional soccer.

Nathaniel Brown is one of FC Bayern’s most exciting new signings this summer. The 23-year-old has recently impressed with strong performances for Eintracht Frankfurt and the German national team and is expected to bolster the record champions’ left side of defense going forward.

As it now turns out, however, Brown could have ended up in Munich much earlier.

Bayern had already shown interest back when he was playing for Regensburg

Brown’s mentor, Christian Lichtenauer, revealed to the *Abendzeitung München* that FC Bayern had already been closely monitoring the now-national team player during his youth career.

Brown was playing for Jahn Regensburg at the time and quickly emerged as one of the most promising talents in his age group. “He quickly made an impression at Jahn and became one of the best players on the team, so various clubs approached us,” Lichtenauer explained.

In addition to FC Bayern, the interested clubs included FC Ingolstadt and 1. FC Nürnberg. “Ingolstadt, who were in the Bundesliga at the time, and 1. FC Nürnberg. Bayern Munich also invited us to make initial contact,” Lichtenauer reported.

Ultimately, however, Brown and his family decided against a move to Munich.

“But at that point, the idea of bringing the boy over wasn’t really on the table yet, because the distance would have been too great for us. His only option would have been to go to boarding school. That’s another reason why we ultimately chose Nuremberg,” explained Brown’s guardian.

The detour led back to Munich

Photo: Getty Images

In hindsight, the decision to go to Nuremberg proved to be absolutely the right one.

There, Brown continued to develop and eventually made the leap to professional soccer. Through Eintracht Frankfurt, he then achieved his definitive breakthrough at the highest level. With strong performances, the left back even earned a spot on the German national team and caught the eye of FC Bayern.

Now, in a sense, he’s come full circle.

Many years after initial contact was made, the record champions have finally completed the transfer. Brown brings exactly the profile that Vincent Kompany is looking for in his style of play: speed, intensity, and versatility.

The fact that FC Bayern had already been keeping an eye on Brown during his youth years also shows once again how early the Munich club begins scouting promising talent—even if not every transfer comes to fruition right away.