Bayern Munich’s search for a successor to Harry Kane is slowly shifting into a gear. It is far from an urgent matter, as the former Tottenham Hotspur striker is still just 31-years-old, but it is always better to be prepared than to be caught unawares. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the Englishman would prefer to stay in Munich beyond the expiry of his current contract in 2027. Some action needs to be taken.
Then again, perhaps Bayern have already taken the necessary steps to future proof the striker position at the club. In the January of 2023, the Bavarians signed striker Jonah Kusi-Asare for an initial €4 million with another €2.5 million in potential add ons. It was an extremely expensive fee. For context, the total package cost more than some Bundesliga clubs’ most expensive transfers last summer and Bayern sent him to the U-23s to play in the 4th division of German football. Still, rather than being a silly splurge of money, it underlined just how much faith the Bavarians have in the player’s potential.
Though the Swede has been unlucky with injuries, the 1.96 meter man mountain has used every available minute to demonstrate just why he is so good. For someone of that size, his technique and skill is absolutely unbelievable. This is a young man with the skills of a winger in the body of a giant. He can dribble past multiple players with his Musiala-esque ball control and superb use of quick feet, let alone the physique he is at his disposal. The 17-year-old’s hold up play in genuinely spectacular, as he is really comfortable using virtually every part of his body to lay the ball off to his fellow forwards. Kusi-Asare is genuinely comfortable laying the ball off with just one touch to his teammates with the outside of his foot, his thigh, his chest and has even squeezed some layoffs perfectly into the path of his teammates by flicking an air borne pass with his heel. It is genuinely enthralling to watch. His speed is also nothing to sneeze at. His control, dribbling skills and speed all suggest he could theoretically do a really good job playing as a winger.
But a player of his goal scoring ability cannot be shunted out wide. He has a phenomenal poaching instinct, knowing when to gamble at the far post, when to peel away from the defender and how to find space in the box to unleash a ferocious strike. Of course, he is also very capable of winning an aerial duel and powering a header at goal.
Surely by now it is obvious why a player of such various and incredible talents has the potential to be a genuinely top class player. The former AIK player does have certain weaknesses- he could do more work off the ball, at times he does not quite connect with the ball the way he wants when he shoots and, of course, his injury record at Bayern so far is not great- but his ceiling is genuinely sky high, in this writer’s humble opinion. Now that he is also training with Bayern’s first team and getting the chance to learn from Kane himself, Kusi-Asare’s game is surely only going to improve from here on out.
It is important not to put too much pressure on a young player. It is important to realize that, for various reasons, young players do not always meet their potential. This could happen to Kusi-Asare. But it is also important to identify talent when one has it and Kusi-Asare has so much of it that he has the potential to replace even a player as good as Kane one day.
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