Bayern Munich youth stars about to join Wolfsburg

According to a report on transfermarkt.de, Bayern Munich U-19 stars Lars Lukas Mai (18) and Manuel Wintzheimer (19) are on the verge of completing a transfer to fellow Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. The transfer would be a major step-up for the two youngsters, who have so far only competed in the A-Junior Bundesliga South / Southwest.

Mai is known as one of the brightest young defenders in Bayern’s academy. He is a player in the mold of Mats Hummels — tall, strong, and able to pass under pressure. He is the current captain of the U-19 Bayern squad as well as a former Fritz Walter medal winner, which he won in 2017.

Wintzheimer on the other hand is a striker, and has scored 30 times in 33 competitive games this season. Both players have played alongside the first-teamers in preseason and have attended the winter training camps and the like. The move to Wolfsburg represents the next stage in their fledgling careers, which so far have been confined to the youth ranks of the country.

Bayern fans will hope that this transfer works out like the loan of Toni Kroos some years ago. Kroos came back to Bayern ready to be a member of the first team, and it remains one of the club’s greatest achievements in youth development. However, there’s a catch.

The transfermarkt report uses the word “wechsel”, which means “transfer”, instead of “ausleihe”, which means loan. If they’re being pedantic, then that might mean that Mai and Wintzheimer are leaving Bayern for good. If so, it would be prudent for Bayern to insert a buy-back clause in their contracts — a technique commonly used by Real Madrid with their youth stars. After all, we don’t want another Mats Hummels-type situation.