Report: Teenage striking sensation Malick Sanogo may see Bundesliga action soon
Germany's SportBild reports that another 16-year-old mega-talent may be close to a call-up with 1. FC Union Berlin.
The corona-related suspensions of play in Germany's lower footballing tiers have left many promising youth academy players without any competitive fixtures to contest. This has translated to a lot of training work with the first-team for a plethora of U19 and U17 players.
A young teenager possessing the pedigree of a notable footballing family has caught the eye of reporters working for Germany's Sportbild Zeitung. Famous Cote d'Ivoire striker Boubacar Sanogo has a young son who appears to be on the precipice of a breakthrough. According to the newspaper, Union Berlin considers a senior-side call-up for young Malick Sanogo.
The elder Sanogo played for five different Bundesliga clubs during a long career that featured five seasons in the Bundesrepublik. He put together his most successful goalscoring seasons playing for 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Energie Cottbus in the second division. After playing one final season in the German fifth-tier, Sanogo retired in 2018 and settled his family in Berlin.
SportBild confirms that the younger Sanogo remains on the radar of many big clubs and several national team programs. Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are said to be interested in purchasing the teenager. Additionally, the the German DFB and the USMNT both have their eyes on the promising talent. Malick was born in the United States, and thereby eligible to play for the USA as a citizen.
Germany's FA, impressed by his 16 goals and 7 assists in 21 appearances at Berlin's U17 level, called him up to the national U17 team earlier this year. He tallied six times in four appearances before the DFB opted to cancel all youth-level matches amidst the pandemic.
Union sporting director Oliver Ruhnert had kind words when speaking to the newspaper about Malick's potential.
"Malick is a good lad who has a chance to make the jump with Union in the long-term," Runhert told the newspaper, "It's great that we're stepping up our work with youth development. It's important that players get a chance to practice with the pros so that they can move up."
Union may not need necessarily need another striker so soon. True, the Max Kruse injury leaves Urs Fischer somewhat depleted. The work of Taiwo Awoniyi in recent weeks has nevertheless proven far more than sufficient in Kruse's absence. Fischer should also get the injured Joel Pohjanpalo back shortly after the new year.
Awoniyi and Pohjanpalo remain loan players, however, and Kruse approaches the twilight of his career at age 32.
"Urs Fischer is very open about developing talent," Runhert noted in his interview