Lennart Karl: The rise of Bayern’s ‘special’ teenage talent who scored against Arsenal

Taufig Khalil turned conscious of Karl’s progress two years in the past when his teenage son, then 15 like Karl, went to observe his buddy play in opposition to a Bayern U17s aspect containing the winger.

“When my son got here residence he mentioned ‘Papa, it is unbelievable. This man, Lennart Karl, he scored 5 targets’,” Bayern Munich reporter Khalil informed BBC Sport.

“It was fairly apparent that this child had one thing actually particular.”

Final season, Karl notched 34 targets and 11 assists in 31 video games for Bayern and Germany’s U17 sides mixed, incomes him a shock call-up to Vincent Kompany’s squad for the Membership World Cup.

Such ruthless ending in all probability may have been predicted.

In 2018, a 10-year-old Karl went viral for an audacious aim he scored whereas taking part in for Eintracht Frankfurt’s U11s in a sports activities corridor.

Along with his again to aim, Karl managed an aerial ball with a again heel earlier than swivelling and rifling a left-footed volley into the highest nook.

Karl received Eintracht’s academy aim of the yr award, and was offered with a customized pair of Nike boots at a Bundesliga match by the membership’s then president Peter Fischer after which sporting director Fredi Bobic.

Born 45 minutes from Frankfurt am Major within the north-west Bavarian city of Frammersbach, Karl joined Eintracht’s academy in 2017 from his first membership Viktoria Aschaffenburg.

Eintracht noticed enormous potential in Karl, however then so did Bayern.

It stays a sore level at Eintracht that, after relations between Karl’s mother and father and the membership took a flip, he briefly rejoined Aschaffenburg earlier than Bayern recruited him aged 14 in 2022.

In keeping with SportBildexteriorGermany’s most profitable membership topped up the nominal compensation price owed for a junior participant to 35,000 euros, divided between his two former groups.

“We tried the whole lot and would have completed something for him,” Eintracht’s former head of academy Andreas Moller informed informed Merkur earlier this yrexterior.

“However Bayern has a really particular attraction, and we had no probability.”

Karl’s youthful brother Vincent nonetheless performs in Eintracht’s youth groups.

Quick ahead to June 2025 and Karl made his senior Bayern debut within the 10-0 thrashing of Auckland Metropolis on the Membership World Cup in the USA.

After stories of curiosity from Actual Madrid and Ajax, Karl signed his first skilled contract over the summer season.

Thus far this season he has made 15 appearances, together with his direct and fearless taking part in model incomes loads of plaudits and comparisons to legends of the sport.

“He performs the Messi model, as a result of his centre of gravity could be very low, which implies he could make very quick turns,” Khalil mentioned of the 5ft 6in Karl.

“He makes use of his centre of gravity to make quick turns and cuts, like an NFL working again. Generally he does it an excessive amount of, however he’s younger.”

There are similarities with former Bayern ahead Arjen Robben too. Like Robben, defenders know Karl desires to chop in from the precise wing and shoot together with his left foot.

Like Robben, defenders discover it very troublesome to cease him.

“Even amongst non-Bayern followers, there’s an actual appreciation for Karl’s vitality and technical high quality,” German soccer journalist Mark Lovell informed BBC Sport.

“He performs with freedom and confidence, and that is refreshing to see at a membership the place the stress is so intense.”