Lennart Karl is the crown jewel of Bayern Munich, having broken through the Bundesliga heavyweights' youth academy. The 17-year-old has been enjoying a purple patch with the Bavarians, with head coach Vincent Kompany offering regular minutes to the talented youngster. Now, recent reports from Germany reveal that the club already has plans in place to secure Karl's long-term future.
Karl becomes Bayern's big bet for the future
Karl joined the Bayern youth academy as a prodigious 14-year-old in 2022. The talented youngster had a colossal impact for Bayern's Under-17 and U19 outfits in the 2024-25 season, scoring 32 goals and delivering 10 assists in a combined total of 26 games. His dramatic rise through the ranks saw him earn his first-team debut in the 10-0 win over Auckland City at the Club World Cup during the summer.
Ahead of the season, Karl was promoted to the first team. Now, according to a report from , the future looks bright for both the talented teenager and the Bavarian giants. The report claims that Bayern already have a foolproof plan in place to secure Karl's long-term future. The news comes after Karl's stunning breakthrough in the first team in the ongoing 2025-26 campaign, where he has featured in 10 of the 13 games Bayern have played in all competitions.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportKarl to receive automatic extension gift on his 18th birthday
"I want to assert myself at Bayern Munich and one day play for the club in the Champions League," Karl told Bayern's official website in an interview earlier this year. He has already started proving himself in Europe's greatest club competition. Last week, he scored his first-ever professional goal in a 4-0 rout of Belgian side Club Brugge, surpassing Jamal Musiala to become Bayern's youngest ever goal scorer in the competition at the age of 17 years and 242 days.
Karl is currently tied to the club until June 30, 2028. Per , the diminutive winger's contract will be extended automatically until 2029 on February 28, 2026, when he turns 18. With the renewal, his current contract will be converted into a professional contract, accompanied by an increase in the young prodigy's salary. There will not be an exit clause inserted, as both the club and the player want to prolong this association into the foreseeable future.
Patience the key to Karl's development at Bayern
Aided by his mentor and agent Michael Ballack – among Germany's all-time greats – Karl has shown an eagerness to learn and improve in the first few months of his life as Bayern's senior side member. His minutes have been managed carefully by head coach Kompany, handing him three starts already. Karl has clocked 291 minutes of action so far, and is on course to breach the 1,000-minute milestone if he remains injury-free.
Kompany, however, has urged for patience with the versatile left-footed teenager. "I'm not a fan of hype, and now he will be getting some of that," the Belgian boss told reporters after the 4-0 win over Brugge last week. "I'm a fan of training and calm… Everyone knows he can score goals and if he keeps going like this, he'll get a chance and maybe at the right time he'll need a bit of calm.
"As a young player, you don't have pressure. I want Lennart to feel that too. He has to enjoy what he's doing. If he makes mistakes, we'll discuss it. Hopefully, at some point, the pressure will be on his shoulders. But for now he should enjoy these moments without any pressure."
Getty Images SportPremier League giants scouting Karl
Karl's gradual progression into the first-team has attracted attention from some of Premier League's biggest sides. Indeed, a report from earlier this week claimed that the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City reportedly sent scouts to monitor the teenage sensation. Adding intrigue to this report is his agent Ballack's past affiliations with Chelsea, whom he played for between 2006 and 2010.
The focus for the rest of the reason will be to ensure that Karl continues his development with regular playing time off the bench along with occasional opportunities to feature in the starting XI. His versatility allows Kompany the luxury to hand rest to undisputed stars like Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry, and even Harry Kane.