Harry Kane has shattered nearly every record this season, but one Bayern Munich teammate has been threatening to steal his thunder.17-year-old Lennart Karl has been European football’s breakout wonderkid this season after a superstar rise through the club’s ranks.Karl has emerged as a regular in Bayern’s attack alongside KaneAFPKarl, who was playing under-19s football last season, has scored six goals and registered two assists in only six Bundesliga starts this year.Last month, he became the youngest player in Champions League history to score in each of his first two starts in the competition.Karl is also one of an elite few stars to have won the Bundesliga Goal of the Month with their first-ever professional league goal.Lennart Karl’s new transfer valueBayern’s new No.42 is already worth €60 million (£52m), despite not turning 18 until February, having only been valued at £1.3m in July.Ironically, his breakthrough may never have happened this year had Kane got his wish for the Bavarians to strengthen their squad.Vincent Kompany oversaw the summer exits of Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané, Kingsley Coman, Mathys Tel, and Paul Wanner, with the arrival of Luís Diaz proving to be Bayern’s only attacking signing.Jamal Musiala then suffered a broken leg injury in the Club World Cup, with Nicolas Jackson drafted in from Chelsea on deadline day.Kane’s public call for more incomings were largely ignored by Bayern’s hierarchy, who instead took a chance on Karl to make the step-up.European football expert Andy Brassell, who was the man speaking to the England captain for that interview, told talkSPORT.com: “The advantage for Lennart Karl has been twofold, really.Karl has scored three goals in his first four Champions League appearancesAFPBayern Munich's youngest-ever Champions League goalscorers1) Lennart Karl: 17 years, 8 months2) Jamal Musiala: 17 years, 11 months, 28 days3) Sammy Kuffour: 18 years, 1 month, 28 days4) Roque Santa Cruz: 18 years, 2 months, 30 days5) Mathys Tel: 18 years, 4 months, 24 days6) Kingsley Coman: 19 years, 5 months, 11 days7) Thomas Müller: 19 years, 5 months, 25 days8) David Alaba: 20 years, 5 months, 11 days9) Bastian Schweinsteiger: 20 years, 8 months, 5 days10) Markus Feulner: 20 years, 9 months, 1 day“I think the fact that Bayern have had a series of injuries, and secondly, that they’ve got quite a small squad this season, something that Harry Kane pointed out at the beginning of the season. “He said it’s one of the smallest squads he’s ever played in as a pro. Now, seeing as he’s played for, and I mean no offence at all to Tottenham Hotspur here, a smaller club before, for him to say that is quite striking.“Obviously, he was trying to an extent to get [Bayern’s director of sport] Max Eberl and the board to sign off on a few more signings. “He said this to me on talkSPORT at the Super Cup at the start of the season, that it is quite a tight squad. And then you look at the injury to Jamal Musiala, which really opened the way up for Lennart Karl.“If you go back six months, no-one imagines him in this position. Maybe he does in his dreams, but no-one else does. “But the big thing that made the difference is Paul Wanner coming back from a loan and then deciding that he really wanted to go somewhere else so he could play regularly, and the club were a little bit shocked by that.”Bayern have Muller and Sane’s hefty wages off the books, and they also needed to replace MusialaGettySo up stepped academy graduate Lennart KarlAFP‘Last Bayern player I felt this about was Jamal Musiala’“Wanner, the previous Bayern Academy wonderkid, went off to PSV, so that kind of left a bit of a space in pre-season,” Brassell added.“This meant that there was an opportunity for Lennart Karl to at least be in the squad at 17 years old. “He played really well in pre-season. He applied himself very, very well. And he’s someone who, the minute he gets the ball, he takes responsibility.“Now, the last Bayern player I felt this about all the time was Jamal Musiala from a very young age, from being a teenager. “Someone who didn’t think, ‘OK, well, I’ll just be in the corner. I’m only a kid. I’ll be seen and not heard. I’ll behave myself and try not make any mistakes.’ He’s not gone in with that attitude. “But at the same time, he’s sensible with the ball, but he’s daring with it…He’s just been outstanding. “I’m not putting him on the same level as Musiala yet, but the fact that he seizes the big moments at 17 years old is pretty extraordinary.”Wild card option for World CupThe Germany U21 international is yet to earn a senior call-up, but has earned calls to be in Julian Nagelsmann’s 2026 World Cup squad.One rare naysayer remains former Bayern player Mario Basler, who bizarrely claimed Karl is ‘simply not good enough’ for his old club.Brassell continued: “When you look at Musiala’s fitness and when you look at the struggles that Florian Wirtz has had so far, I don’t understand why Germany wouldn’t at least have him in the squad going towards the World Cup.“Obviously, Mario Basler might be looking at it in terms of, let’s not get carried away, let’s look after him. “Maybe he’s looking at it in that way. But to try and say that he isn’t an outstanding talent is just nonsense, isn’t it really?“He’s great. He’s really great. “Mario Basler will probably have this revelation moment, an epiphany, in a couple of weeks when he’s like, actually, Karl is fantastic.”