For many seasons the Bundesliga has been a fertile ground for developing and nurturing young talent and the German top flight has produced some of the world’s best players.
In recent seasons we have seen the emergence of Jamal Musiala who made his Bayern Munich debut and scored his first senior goal in the 2020/21 campaign and, now 23 he has scored 48 goals in 154 games and has picked up 46 caps for Germany, scoring ten international goals. Then there were Borussia Dortmund’s young guns, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, who made his BVB debut and scored his first goal aged 17, and in 2023 Bellingham signed for Real Madrid in a 103m Euros move, rising to 133m with add-ons.
Last summer Bayer Leverkusen sold their young diamond Florian Wirtz to Liverpool for £107m plus add-ons, to become the sixth most expensive player of all time and the biggest Bundesliga transfer in history.
So now, here at SBOTOP, we look to the Class of 2026, and we’ll try to find the next 100m player, and it is little surprise that three of the four most highly rated teenagers are on the books of Bayern, Borussia or Bayer.
Wisdom Mike (17): Bayern Munich
Germany U17 star Wisdom Mike is the Bavarians’ brightest young star and he already has two senior appearances for the champions. A two footed winger with searing pace he’s the kind of player Vincent Kompany likes to have in his attacking unit and Mike is well placed to follow in the footsteps of Musiala. He plays predominantly on the left flank and, as well as debuting in the Bundesliga at a younger age than Musiala, Mike was given a Champions League runout against Club Brugge last season. The manager certainly has his eyes on the Nigerian born starlet, and I expect to see him getting more exposure this season, which will give some experienced right fullbacks a few headaches when he starts to run at them.
Samuele Inácio (18): Borussia Dortmund
BVB fans remember Bellingham with great fondness, and they may have found a player in the Englishman’s image in 18 year old attacking midfielder Samuele Inacio. The Bergamo born star moved to Dortmund from his native Atalanta in 2024 and he graduated to the BVB first team last season, making seven appearances and scoring his first Bundesliga goal in a 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Inacio is a classic creative midfielder who, like Bellingham is excellent in the pocket just behind a striker and he will weigh in with goals when he gets the chance, scoring 13 in 20 Italy U17 games… and he earned his first full Azzurri cap this year.
Kennet Eichhorn (17): Bayer Leverkusen
Our Werkself star is 17 year old Kennet Eichorn who spent last season on loan at Hertha Berlin where, as a defensive midfielder he made 17 appearances in Bundesliga II which will give new manager Carles Martinez Novell confidence in his young star. In a team packed with experience Eichhorn can learn from skipper Robert Andrich, who often plays in that defensive midfield role and, with outside title chances, according to the latest Bundesliga 2026 betting odds, Novell will need a big squad to compete in both European and domestic competition. With maturity way beyond his years he is very comfortable on the ball and has superb reading of the game, and Eichhorn has a sparkling career ahead of him, with opportunities to shine this season.
Noah Darvich (19): Elversberg
Our fourth young star hoping to make some spectacular Bundesliga 2026 highlights is VfB Stuttgart attacking midfielder Noah Darwich. After performing superbly for VfB Stuttgart II last season, scoring ten goals in 29 games he has earned a loan move to newly promoted Elversberg where can make a big impression. Darwich has played for Germany at U16 to U20 levels and he captained the U17 World Champions and, as a Barcelona academy graduate, he has a fine pedigree. With opportunities limited at Stuttgart last term in a packed midfield a loan move makes perfect sense and Elversberg is the perfect club for an attacking player to express himself in.
While expectations of the newcomers nowhere near as high as those in Munich, Dortmund and Leverkusen, Darwich may well have the most opportunity of the four young stars this term, though every one of them has the potential to shine.
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