Sky Sports' resident renowned German transfer journalist Florian Plettenberg exclusively reported on Tuesday that Bayern Munich is close to finalizing a contract extension with its Germany U21s international attacking midfielder wonderkid Lennart Karl.

According to Plettenberg, Karl, whose birthday is February 22nd, has already signed his first professional contract with Bayern, which runs until the summer of 2029. Although unconfirmed, there are numerous online reports of Premier League giants like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea vying to sign Karl.

Knowing that the Premier League's Big Seven have more transfer budget than any Bundesliga club, Bayern's management believes it's essential to extend the player's contract as soon as possible.

Furthermore, as Karl had publicly stated about his dream is to join and play for Real Madrid one day, this has also prompted Bayern's decision to extend his contract again.

He said, Karl's agent is currently in very advanced negotiations with Bayern, and once an agreement is reached on some final personal terms details, both parties could finalize the contract extension before this summer's 2026 FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico.

Compared to his teammates, Karl's current after-tax annual wages is only €2 million, which has become one of the reasons why both parties have been unable to reach an agreement on personal terms.

Once these issues are resolved, Karl's wages will increase several times over to reflect the club's absolute confidence in his future.

Plettenberg added that although Karl has clearly expressed his desire to join the La Liga giants someday, the player will still prioritize pledging loyalty to Bayern in these contract extension negotiations.

If the deal goes through, Karl is expected to sign a new long-term five-year deal with Bayern which runs until the summer of 2031.

About Lennart Karl

Lennart Karl, who is only still 18 years old, was born on February 22, 2008, in Frammersbach, Germany. He is 1.68 meters tall and primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a right winger.

Karl played for the youth academies of Viktoria Aschaffenburg and Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Bayern Munich's youth academy in 2022. His outstanding performances in the U17s team quickly attracted the attention of Ajax.

In June 2025, Karl completed his Bayern Munich first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in the 10-0 thrashing of Auckland City in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Since then, still just 17 years old at the time, he has scored repeatedly, quickly becoming a key player for Bayern's first team and even breaking Kylian Mbappé's record to become the youngest player in UEFA Champions League history to score in consecutive matches.

Since his debut, Karl has made 31 appearances for the reigning Bundesliga champions in all competitions so far, scoring 7 goals and providing 4 assists, and winning the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup (DFL-Super Cup) with the club.

Image source: Internet / Sky Sports Germany