Harry Kane knows just how good Lennart Karl has been for Bayern Munich

The long absence of Jamal Musiala for Bayern Munich in the first half of this season has opened the door for Lennart Karl and he has not wasted any time making the most of the opportunities he’s been given by Vincent Kompany. So far this season, the 17-year old has tallied six goals and two assists from a total of nineteen appearances across all competitions, with three of his goals having come in the Champions League starts he was given for the wins over Club Brugge and Sporting Lisbon and the loss to Arsenal.

Karl has taken Musiala’s previous kit number of 42 since the latter has switched to number 10 with Leroy Sané‘s departure to Galatasaray, and the youngster has lived up to the hype Musiala has given the number 42 at Bayern thus far. He has shown a confidence on the ball in Bayern’s attack that’s similar to when Musiala first made his break into the senior squad and it looks like he has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. Kompany has already belittled the idea that Musiala’s return to the squad will heavily reduce Karl’s minutes, too.

In a recent interview with the Bundesliga official website with Archie Rhind-Tutt (via @iMiaSanMia), Harry Kane spoke in great detail about how much he has been impressed with Karl so far both on and off the pitch.

“I think Lenny’s been great for us. I think you see the qualities that he has, especially in tight areas. That’s been a big help for us since he’s been in the team because we play a lot against a low block or against a 5-4-1 system where teams drop off and make it difficult for us to get through,” Kane explained. In the past, it had often been Bayern’s Achilles heel to get hit on counter attacks when their opposition would sit in deep trying to frustrate them as much as they could, relying on their breaks forward. Bayern’s high line in those situations would often get exposed, but with creative players like Karl, spaces naturally open up.

“Lenny helps to open that space up because he’s so quick and so good on the ball and he can beat a defender. He’s similar to Jamal in that way, which has opened up games for us and has given him a chance to score and has given other people chances to score,” the England skipper added.

In addition to the window of opportunity being larger with Musiala’s long-term absence, Kane also made a point of saying that Karl has earned his place with the work ethic he puts forth in training that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Kompany and his coaching staff. “Without the ball, he has a great work ethic. The way we train here and the way the boss is, I don’t think he would let him get away with anything else. That’s great for him to be able to learn and to try to help the team, so it’s great to have him,” he enthused.

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