Germany's class of 2000: The five biggest talents
Who will be the first German player born after 2000 to be called up for the German national team? Here are five options.
| Jann-Fiete Arp. |
Kai Havertz, who was born in 1999, recently made his debut for Germany, but no player born after 2000 has been selected for 'Die Mannschaft' until now.
Below, we have identified five players from the German class of 2000 who could potentially be called up in the future.
Christian Früchtl (Bayern München), goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer's heir? The expectations are high for the 18-year-old who is currently Bayern München's third-choice keeper behind Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich. Früchtl still hasn't made his first team debut for the Bavarians, but has earned the status as the preferred keeper at the German under-19 national team.
Lars Lukas Mai (Bayern München), centre-back
In 18-year-old Mai, Bayern München has a defensive leader coming through the ranks. The gifted central defender was discovered and headhunted by Bayern scouts while playing for Dynamo Dresden in 2014 and has since been making his way through the youth ranks of the Bavarian club. Mai, who is the captain of Bayern's under-19 team, became the first player born this millenium to appear for the Bavarians when he made his professional debut last season.
Jonathan Burkardt (Mainz 05), striker/winger
After impressing for Mainz's youth team and various German youth national teams, Burkardt has fought his way into the first team this season. So far, the 18-year-old has made three Bundesliga appearances - two of them from the start.
Nicolas Kühn (Ajax), striker/winger
The small striker has represented Germany at every youth age group from under-15 to under-19. In January 2018, he left RB Leipzig to join Ajax for around €2 million. This season, Kühn has made two appearances for the Dutch side's under-19 team, scoring two goals and two assists.
Jann Fiete-Arp (Hamburger SV), striker
Arp is probably the hottest candidate of the bunch. The striker, who scored goals for fun for Hamburger SV's youth teams and the German under-17 national team, has already made 23 professional appearances for HSV with three goals to his name. Arp was heavily linked with a move to Bayern München during the summer, but decided to stay at HSV - for now.
