Bayern Munich: Paul Wanner subject to tug of war between Austria and Germany
The last couple of years have been very productive for the youth academy at Bayern Munich. The record Bundesliga champions have actively signed top talents from different parts of the world and successfully nurtured young talent that has come through the academy.
Jamal Musiala has been the biggest success story of Die Roten’s academy. They managed to sign him from Chelsea at a young age and slowly integrate him into the first team. He is currently the top scorer for the senior team this season and a key player for Germany at World Cup 2022.
Musiala was previously subject to a battle between England and Germany for international allegiance. Germany managed to win this battle and convince Musiala to represent them in international football. He featured for Germany in Euros last year. DFB is now facing another tug-of-war involving Bayern talent.
Earlier this month, Austria called up Paul Wanner for training camp during the friendly games. The youngster is eligible to represent Germany and Austria on the international stage. He has already represented Germany at the youth level, but Austria can convince him to represent them at the senior level.
Austria’s head coach Ralf Rangnick spoke glowingly about Wanner while talking to the media in the last week. Germany’s neighbours have made the first move to convince Wanner. DFB will have to respond and convince Wanner that he has a clear pathway to eventually represent Germany on the international stage.
The intense efforts from Austria and Germany shows the incredible potential of Wanner. He still has enough time to make a final decision, but the coming months will see DFB also putting the groundwork to convince him.
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Wanner is considered one of the most exciting talents coming through Bayern’s academy. He made his senior debut at the age of 16 when he came on against Borussia Monchengladbach earlier this year. Since making his senior debut, Paul Wanner has been consistently training with the senior team. Earlier this year, Wanner also signed a long-term contract at Bayern.
Die Roten wants Wanner to be part of the senior team setup, so they squashed reports linking him with a loan move in the last summer transfer window. He has made three appearances for the senior team this season. Despite the eagerness of Austria to involve Wanner at the senior level, Bayern is going to slowly integrate the youngster into the first team. It remains to be seen how soon Wanner will make a decision about his international allegiance.