Bayern Munich should sign Gianluca Gaudino to a professional contract now

According to reports out of Italy, a few Serie A clubs are sniffing around Bayern Munich's current jewel of the academy Gianluca Gaudino, and these aren't small clubs. If the reports are to be believed, both Juventus and Inter Milan are interested in bringing Gaudino to the south of Europe in the near future.

The midfielder has impressed basically every time he's taken the field for FC Bayern to date. While his toughest competition to date has been Wolfsburg, let's remember that this kid is only 17 years old. He's demonstrating that he's capable of being a regular squad player at Bayern but will need some more seasoning before accepting a larger role with the club.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm suggesting that the club go ahead and sign him to his first professional contract now. As we speak, Gaudino's youth contract with the club pays him a sum of €250 a month. That's a standard (and fair) youth contract. He turns 18 in November, and the youth contract will run until next summer.

Yes, I fully believe that Bayern will be signing Gaudino to a professional contract at some point over the next several months. However, I believe it's important to go ahead and get this deal out of the way now and secure Gaudino's future to the club long term.