Pavlović, Tel and the next five Bayern youngsters set to break into the first team
Aleksandar Pavlović and Mathys Tel have followed Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala in making the jump from academy football to the first team at Bayern Munich, and there are more to come...
Davies and Musiala have become first-team regulars at the Allianz Arena in recent seasons, and this year teenaged pair Pavlović and Tel have started to rack up significant minutes alongside them.
And there are more where they came from. bundesliga.com looks at five of the most promising Bayern youngsters…
Aleksandar Pavlović
Age: 19 (born 3 May 2004)
Position: Defensive midfielder
Country: Germany (U20s)/Serbia
Watch: Pavlović, from ballboy to Bayern baller
A Munich native of Serbian descent, footage of Pavlović serving as a Bayern ball boy recently re-emerged following his Bundesliga debut in November. From throwing the ball to Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller from the sidelines, a few short years later he is now trying to find them as quickly as possible with his feet, having established himself in Bayern's midfield.
Kimmich remains a pre-eminent player in his position, and Pavlović also has Leon Goretzka, Konrad Laimer and Raphaël Guerreiro for competition, but that hasn't stopped him from racking up 11 Bundesliga appearances this season, including starts against Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.
"I was a ball boy here for several years, playing endless games, then scoring here in the stadium is even nicer," he said after hitting the first in the 3-1 win at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 20 - his second top-flight strike. "I grew up here, FC Bayern means everything to me."
Mathys Tel
Age: 18 (born 27 April 2005)
Position: Forward
Country: France (U21s)
Watch: Every Mathys Tel Bundesliga goal so far
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Another who has made his presence felt this season is Tel, who boasts three goals and three assists, all of them from the bench. With positional paragon Harry Kane occupying the No.9 spot, Tel has often had to settle for a cameo from the left flank, but has done so to devastating effect.
A product of the Rennes youth academy - and a former youth teammate of recent Bayern acquisition Sacha Boey - Tel has nonetheless been given his chance in Bavaria since his arrival in 2022, making 57 senior appearances there compared to 10 in Brittany, despite his tender 18 years.
"He's very, very efficient. It's unbelievable," said Thomas Tuchel after Tel set up Kane for what proved to be the winner against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League in November. "We should always remember that he's 18 because he plays like a 22 or 24-year-old player." The future looks very bright indeed.
Frans Krätzig
Age: 21 (born 14 January 2003)
Position: Left-back/midfielder
Country: Germany (U20s)
A crown jewel of the Bayern academy, Krätzig exploded into the popular consciousness in August when he scored a spectacular long-range goal to beat Liverpool 4-3 in August, thus winning the pre-season Singapore Trophy.
Krätzig's technique in hitting that exquisite volley hints to his history as a box-to-box midfielder, one sniffing out chances on the edge of the opposition area, but the left-footer has now made a similar journey to Davies, more commonly found at left-back than in midfield.
With the Canadian in his way for now at the Allianz, Krätzig decided to spent the second half of the season on loan with Austria Vienna in February, where he has already contributed a goal and an assist from three games at left wing-back.
Lovro Zvonarek
Age: 18
Position: Central midfielder
Country: Croatia (U21s)
Zvonarek set tongues wagging in his native Croatia when he became the youngest scorer in their top-flight history, scoring for first club Slaven Belupo just two weeks past his 16th birthday - thus overtaking former Barcelona and Hamburg prodigy Alen Halilović.
He joined the Bayern academy two years later, where his eye for goal has become apparent with 12 strikes alongside his eight assists across the last two seasons with the reserves and U19s.
Zvonarek has made the bench eight times for Bayern in the Bundesliga this season, and came off it to make his debut in January's 3-2 win at Augsburg.
Noël Aséko
Age: 18
Position: Defensive midfielder
Country: Germany (U18s)/Equatorial Guinea
Berlin-born Aséko joined Bayern's academy from Hertha's in 2022, and has wasted little time in endearing himself to the club's supporters.
A defensive midfielder by trade, Aséko has a happy habit of scoring on his debuts. He found the target in a 4-1 win over Eintracht Trier in his first outing with Bayern's U19s last season, and marked his first appearance with the seniors with a goal in a 1-1 draw with Swiss champions Basel in January.
Still eligible to represent Equatorial Guinea through his parentage, he is the first player with that descent to play for Bayern. A Germany international future looks to be his, though, with 16 youth international caps already.
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