Bayern Munich have seemingly moved ahead of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in the race to sign Schalke 04 teenager Assan Ouedraogo, according to a report.
The 17-year-old has quickly emerged as one of the most in-demand youngster in Europe since breaking into the Schalke first team this season.
Ouedraogo has made 10 senior appearances for the German club in 2.Bundesliga so far this season, including seven starts, and he scored on his professional debut in July to become the club's youngest-ever goalscorer, surpassing the previous record held by Julian Draxler.
Prior to his promotion to the first team, the 6ft 3in midfielder recorded nine goals and 12 assists in 23 games at Under-17 level, before contributing with seven goals and two assists for Schalke's Under-19s team last season.
Ouedraogo, a 15-cap international for Germany Under-17s, has recently been linked with a possible move to England amid interest from Premier League trio Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
However, the 2006-born starlet may stay put in his native Germany as perennial Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich are said to have made their first move for the youngster.
© Reuters
Indeed, Sky Deutschland journalist Florian Plettenberg claims that Bayern have scheduled a meeting with Ouedraogo's entourage to take place in 'the near future' to discuss a possible move for the midfielder to the Allianz Arena.
Plettenberg adds that both parties want to 'exchange ideas' with Bayern's sporting directors Christoph Freund keen to present the club's vision to Ouedraogo in a bid to lure him to Bavaria.
Ouedraogo has a contract with Schalke until the summer of 2027, but his release clause situation puts the German club in a difficult situation.
It is understood that Ouedraogo's release clause will be valued between €9m (£7.8m) and €12m (£10.5m) if Schalke qualify for European competition next season, but if they fail to do so, it will fall to just €7m (£6.1m) heading into the summer of 2024.
However, Schalke could see Ouedraogo increase to €20m (£17.4m) if the teenage midfielder makes his senior international debut for Julian Nagelsmann's Germany.
Thomas Tuchel is known to be in the market for a new deep-lying midfielder, but it remains to be seen whether he regards Ouedraogo as someone who can immediately slot into his first-team plans.
Bayern are understood to still hold an interest in Fulham's Joao Palhinha, who narrowly missed out on a transfer to the Allianz Arena in the summer, while a possible January swoop for Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips has also been mooted.
Oliver Thomas
