Which youngsters will break through in 2025/26?

Tom Bischof (19) - Bayern Munich 

Simply put, Bischof is the future of Bayern and Germany. An incredibly versatile midfielder, the Bavaria native is a football purist's dream who boasts excellent ball control, pinpoint passing that can bypass the tightest of lines and a second-to-none ball-winning ability.

If a game is in full flow, expect Bischof to be running things; linking defence to attack, keeping his teammates on their toes and creating chances all the while. 

Previously Hoffenheim's youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant at 16, it was no surprise when, in January 2025, Bayern announced they'd reached a deal to sign Bischof at the end of the campaign. The record champions then brought forward the youngster's transfer in order to register him for the FIFA Club World Cup. 

Watch: The best of Tom Bischof 

Prior to the tournament, the one-time Fritz Walter Gold Medal winner and Germany youth star made his senior international bow under Julian Nagelsmann against France. With everything appearing be falling into place with perfect timing for Bischof, 2025/26 should see him enter the next dimension. 

Can Uzun (19) - Eintracht Frankfurt 

Turkey international Uzun is in a hurry, and it shows. Complementing his immense ability with a self-belief that belies his years, the Regensburg native was - at 18 - once Nuremberg's most important player in Bundesliga 2 before joining Eintracht.

Fans at the Max-Morlock-Stadion were enthralled by Uzun's game-changing ways in attack that produced 16 goals and two assists in the 2023/24 campaign. Indeed, from the moment he joined Der Club back in 2019, Uzun set a blazing standard that had youth coaches in awe. In one such campaign, the 6'1" tyro scored 22 times in 19 U17 encounters.    

A step up in class to a Frankfurt side where competition for places was fierce left Uzun unfazed and he immediately began winning over coach Dino Toppmöller, as well as the Eagles' supporters.

Many might have expected game time to be limited for Eintracht's young new arrival, yet Uzun ended up playing 31 times across all competitions last term and enjoyed five goal involvements (four goals, one assist) in his maiden Bundesliga season. 

Watch: Can Uzun entertaining the masses 

"I see myself as an instinctive footballer; I do whatever comes into my head on the pitch," he once said, before dismissing comparisons with another young Bundesliga favourite. “I don't want to be the next [Jamal] Musiala; I want to be the first Can Uzun,” the Frankfurt talent insisted.  

Antonio Nusa (20) - RB Leipzig 

The Norwegian Neymar was here before, all set for a spellbinding first season for a Leipzig team with designs on Bundesliga glory and hungry to make their mark in the UEFA Champions League.

Sadly, things didn't quite pan out that way for the double Belgian Pro League winner with Club Brugge. A knee injury meant Nusa was limited to just 16 Bundesliga starts last term while Leipzig's stuttering form made it difficult for the wide attacker to fully settle. 

What will fill the Norway international with belief, however, is the inspirational beginning he enjoyed to his start to life in Saxony. A goalscoring debut in the DFB Cup first round was followed with a match-winner against Bochum in Nusa's Bundesliga bow the following week. By Matchday 2, he had added an assist as Leipzig became one of only three teams to enjoy a perfect start to the top-flight. 

Still the fourth-youngest player ever to score in the Champions League, the Langhus-born schemer is now fully fit and eager to go again as Leipzig prepare for a season reset under a new coach. "I like to create chaos,” he once said. The Bundesliga's best have been duly warned.    

Johan Manzambi (19) - Freiburg 

Things couldn't be going much better for Geneva-born Manzambi. With his formidable rise of late including a senior debut for Switzerland and a goal against the United States on his first start for his country, the exceptional midfielder has taken his top form from the second-half of last season with Freiburg to the brink of a new campaign with the Black-Forest side.    

Manzambi was promoted from Freiburg youths into Julian Schuster's senior side at the start of last season. However, until the turn of 2025, the ex-Servette player barely got a look in. That would change when Freiburg's No. 44 picked up some minutes against Bayern, and he added to those as his team fought hard for a top-four place.

Manzambi scored a crucial, last-gasp winner in the battle for European places against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 29, while his strike in the come-from-behind win against Holstein Kiel several weeks later helped Freiburg eventually seal a place in the UEFA Europa League.

"I have a lot of self-confidence and feel ready," he said ahead of his debut for Switzerland in June. "I'm versatile, and that's one of my strengths." 

Lennart Karl (19) - Bayern Munich 

When it comes awe-inspiring potential, few players can match Bayern's Karl. He may not like the comparisons with former club great and footballing legend Arjen Robben, but that isn't stopping fans from making them. A senior debut seemed an inevitability ever since the 5'6" tyro joined the Bundesliga giants as a 14-year-old.

Karl tore through the youth levels and was soon seen on the bench with Vincent Kompany's seniors in 2024/25. That he was able to provide Bayern first-team back-up while scoring a jaw-dropping combined 34 goals and providing 11 assists for the club's U17s and U19s last season is testament to his hunger and energy. 

His efforts were rewarded at the Club World Cup, where Karl made his senior debut in Bayern's statement 10-0, group-stage victory against Auckland City. “I'm very quick over the first few metres, like to go one-on-one and have a good finish," he told Bayern's official website.

"I'm not the tallest, but my low centre of gravity helps me to impose myself, especially when dribbling.” More game time in the coming campaign appears very likely for a rising star who will undoubtedly light up the game in the coming years.