Olaf Thon idolizes Lennart Karl

The legendary German player has praised the footballing qualities of the Bayern Munich young player.

Lennart Karl is the new german football jewel and also of Bayern Múnich with 17th years old.

17-year-old winger Lennart Karl is currently making waves for both Bayern Munich and the German U21 national team. Schalke legend Olaf Thon has even compared the youngster to Lionel Messi.

“For me, Karl has the most potential - not only to become a regular at Bayern, but also for the national team,” Thon said in an interview with Sport1.

The 59-year-old added: “His playing style allows you to compare him to Lionel Messi. It remains to be seen whether he can emulate this great idol. But the potential is there.”

Karl recently impressed in his first appearances for the DFB U21 team, scoring three goals in two matches.

Thon understands why the 17-year-old has not yet been selected by national team coach Julian Nagelsmann.

"Most players should be regular starters for their clubs. That's why I think it's good that Lennart Karl is left in the U21 team," the former international midfielder said, but added: "Karl is still a candidate for me, who can definitely be called up in the future and maybe even be in the squad for the 2026 World Cup."

Praise for Leroy Sane

Thon also spoke highly of Leroy Sane. The Galatasaray player had put in an excellent performance against both Luxembourg (2-0) and Slovakia (6-0). He had previously been overlooked by national team coach Julian Nagelsmann.

“He was the player who stood out the most in both matches for me. He deserves special praise,” said Olaf Thon.

Despite a convincing performance against Slovakia, Tohn sees the German national team as underdogs at the 2026 World Cup.

“We are not the favourites,” he said bluntly. “You can see that if you look at the other groups in the World Cup qualifiers. England, Belgium, Spain, France and other teams got through easily.”. But going into a World Cup as underdogs “isn’t necessarily the worst starting point,” Thon stressed.