Chelsea could have secret weapon in race for wonderkid eyed by Arsenal and Man City

View 2 Images

Chelsea's hopes of winning the race for Bayern Munich youngster Lennart Karl could be boosted by the fact that Michael Ballack represents his fellow German. Ballack enjoyed a fruitful four-year spell at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League in 2010, though it's also worth noting he spent the same amount of time with Karl's current club.

Karl, 17, is one of the hottest prospects at the Allianz Arena. He made his senior debut over the summer at the Club World Cup and has followed that up with a first Bundesliga outing in August. He scored his first Bayern goal against Club Brugge in the Champions League last week and made it two in two when he netted in a weekend victory away to Borussia Monchengladbach.

According to reports in Germany , Chelsea , Arsenal and Manchester City have all sent scouts to watch the teenager. It is said to be unclear whether the Ballack connection - reported by Bild - will prove a deciding factor in any move.

Ballack is also said to have been involved in securing Karl's latest contract extension. The attacking midfielder agreed new terms in August, with his deal now running until the summer of 2028.

Since that extension, Karl has been in Bayern's matchday squad for every single one of their Bundesliga and Champions League matches. He also started in the first round of the German Cup, playing as part of a front four which also included Harry Kane , Luis Diaz and Michael Olise.

Karl signed his extension at the same time as fellow teenager Wisdom Mike, and both were praised by sporting director Christoph Freund after agreements were reached. “Lennart Karl and Wisdom Mike have been at the FC Bayern Campus for years, they’ve always been defining players of their teams," Freund said.

"Lennart is bold, dangerous in front of goal, technically gifted with close ball control in one-on-one situations and very versatile in attack. Wisdom has good acceleration, he’s explosive and dynamic with a drive towards goal and has good finishing skills – a winger we at FC Bayern like to see. Both are still very young and have enormous potential. The future might belong to them.”

View 2 Images

If Chelsea are able to land Karl, he would become the latest addition to a squad packed with teenage talent. Jorrel Hato, Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez all joined over the summer, while 18-year-old Sporting CP star Geovany Quenda will join next summer.

Enzo Maresca's side had three teenagers on the scoresheet in their recent Champions League victory over Ajax. Estevao, Marc Guiu and Tyrique George were all among the goals in a 5-1 win, the first time any team has had three teenage scorers in one match in the competition.