Bayern Munich’s long-term plans for Paul Wanner are becoming clear

Bayern Munich youngster Paul Wanner was a surprise call-up this season and with a new deal in hand, the 16-year-old looks like he could be one of the future stars in Bavaria.

But what position will he play?

According to a report from Tz, Wanner will be used as a 10 for now, but the club eventually sees him as more of an 8 for the long run:

Our newspaper knows that the negotiations discussed, among other things, the position in which Wanner can gain match practice despite his young age. The result: The jewel play primarily as a ten — because he is less defensively challenged there than in the center of midfield. In the long term, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and technical director Marco Neppe see him as an eight.

With Thomas Müller battling COVID-19, this would seem like a natural time to start giving Wanner more field time to gain experience. Bayern Munich’s recent dip in form, however, has made manager Julian Nagelsmann a little wary on taking too many risks.

It remains to be seen if Wanner will be called up on for a bigger role against Eintracht Frankfurt, but it would seem like a tough environment to call on the teen to shoulder a bigger workload.

With Bayern Munich scuffling, the hesitancy to use Wanner might grow as there are no cakewalks on the upcoming slate of games. Regardless, the club wants to market Wanner as its latest homegrown, “Made in Bavaria” phenom and Wanner’s chance for playing time should increase eventually this season.