After their World Cup victory in 2014, the German national team has been on a downward trajectory. They have failed to replicate their previous success in the years that have followed – but they have some excellent young talents who they can rely on.
In this piece, we’ll be looking at the five best German wonderkids in the world at the moment. We’ll only be looking at players under the age of 21 – anyone who doesn’t meet this requirement won’t be considered.
Assan Ouedraogo
Assan Ouedraogo is everything you could want from a modern central midfielder. He has all the required physical attributes and technical nous – additionally, he’s also the second-youngest player in this list at just 19 years of age.
Currently, Ouedraogo plays for RB Leipzig – he’s currently out with an injury, but he was a regular in their starting XI prior to this.
As things stand, Ouedraogo has scored three goals and has notched up as many assists in the Bundesliga this season – let’s hope he hasn’t missed a beat when he makes his comeback.
Tom Bischof
The current captain of Germany’s U21s team, Tom Bischof is a commanding central midfielder who is wise beyond his years.
For such as young player, he is also very adaptable – he can play as an attacking midfielder and as a left-back, in conjuction to being a natural central player.
Bischof has begun to carve out a regular spot in Bayern Munich’s first team – he has featured in 16 Bundesliga games this season, notching up three assists along the way.
Said El Mala
Of all the players in our list, none of them have made as much of an impact for their team as Said El Mala has at FC Koln this season.
At just 19 years of age, El Mala has scored seven Bundesliga goals this season and has racked up a total of three assists. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder, but he can also function on either wing thanks to his ambidextrous feet.
He recently recieved his first callup to the German senior team, but didn’t make an appearance – this will surely come in time for the Krefeld native.
Mert Komur
Mert Komur has been one of Augsburg’s most important players this season – without him, they could be fighting a rear-guard battle in the relegation zone of the Bundesliga.
A natural attacking midfielder, Komur can also play as a central midfielder or as an out-and-out striker – such adaptability is a testament to his range of skills.
So far this season, the 20-year-old has scored two goals in the Bundesliga and has notched up three assists alongside this.
Lennart Karl
Lennart Karl is already a superstar – his future in football is as bright as anyone’s. At just 17 years of age, he is already making a major impact in the sporting world.
Not only is he thriving in the Bundesliga, he has also been ripping up the Champions League – he has scored four goals in his domestic division, but he has found the back of the net three times in six games in the Champions League.
Possessing wonderful dribbling ability, Karl can glide past several opponents at once – Bayern Munich’s academy isn’t the best in the world, but they might have just produced the world’s greatest current wonderkid.
Surely it won’t be long before we see the likes of these aforementioned wonderkids transferred from their current clubs to be playing for Premier League sides like Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle, Spurs or Villa.
This will surely be true sooner rather than later given how well youngsters from Germany like Florian Wirtz, Leroy Sane and Kai Havertz to name just 3 have performed in the Premier League.