Berlin (Germany), Sep 1 (IANS): Bayern Munich's gifted talented players continued on their record-setting journey in the German Cup.
While the 5-0 victory in the first round of the German Cup against third-tier side Viktoria Cologne was far from a surprise, all the more it was the performance of Mathys Tel.
The French striker became the Bavarians' youngest goal scorer at 17 years and 126 days in the Cup competition since the 2020 treble winner made its way to the Bundesliga in 1965.
Despite having to live with the burden of a youngster of his age's exorbitant transfer sum of 20 million euros, the former Stade Rennais forward crushed the record of 19-year-old shooting star Jamal Musiala, who scored at 17 years and 205 days.
His coach Julian Nagelsmann announced to carefully develop the striker as "he is extremely talented but only 17". The Bayern coach nevertheless predicted that Tel is on his way to building a brilliant career.
After only seven games in Ligue 1 and no goal for Rennes, the transfer was regarded to not be without risk for the Munich club.
Soon after his arrival, Tel proved his quality in training sessions, reports Xinhua.
"He one day can score around 40 goals just like Robert Lewandowski. For now, we would be overwhelmed when he ends up with ten," Nagelsmann said.
Bayern's sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic is fond of Tel's attitude, as the 45-year-old witnessed him turning up for extra training sessions on his free days.
Dutch international Matthijs de Ligt praised Tel's confidence. "You can see his outstanding talent and technique aside from his strong will to improve. He is remarkably self-confident for his age but far from taking off," De Ligt said.
And German international Leon Goretzka is also convinced. "He will make his way to the very top, but there are still some miles to go," he said.