Assan Ouédraogo might be the biggest talent in German football. Only 17, the Schalke midfielder started the 2. Bundesliga season as a regular starter and then was also part of the U17 Germany squad that won the World Cup earlier this month. Although Ouédraogo would miss the knockout stages of the tournament with an injury, the demand to sign the midfielder is unbroken.
What makes Ouédraogo such a desirable prospect?Despite being a more central player, Ouédraogo looks for one-on-one conditions and likes to press high up the pitch to create damaging moments for his team. In a way, this makes him comparable to Real Madrid star Jude. Bellingham, who also presses in the middle and, at times, can almost play as an additional striker.
Only 17, Ouédraogo still has some room to grow to become a Bellingham type player. Plus, there have been some injury concerns. Ouédraogo struggled with hamstring issues ahead of the tournament and then suffered a syndesmotic ligament tear. Regardless, the numbers ahead of his injury were impressive. Before his injury, Ouédraogo was third in the 2. Bundesliga with 7.1 dribbles per 90 minutes, fourth with 65.85% successful dribbles this season.
But who will win the race for Ouédraogo? Ouédraogo was born into a circle of footballers’ relatives. His father, Alassane, and uncle, Issiaka, are both professional footballers with a long career in German and Austrian lower-level football, respectively. In other words, the family circle knows how this business works. It also means that they are well aware that the next step in Ouédraogo’s career will have to be conscientiously measured.
According to various reports in Germany, the Ouédraogo camp has already held meetings with Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund. There is no doubt that Ouédraogo would be a good fit for the new transfer strategy under Freund, which focuses on signing players before they become expensive superstars.
Freund brought that strategy with him when he joined Bayern from Red Bull Salzburg earlier this season. And not surprisingly, Salzburg’s sister club RB Leipzig, is also among the clubs heavily interested. Indeed, reports out of Germany on Saturday indicated that Leipzig, under sporting director Rouven Schröder, has now made an initial contract offer to Ouédraogo and his family.
Schröder knows Ouédraogo’s contract well. Leipzig signed their sporting director from Schalke where he initially signed Ouédraogo to a professional contract that will kick in once the player turns 18 next summer.
That contract, according to a report by Sport Bild, includes various exit clauses. According to the report, Bundesliga clubs will have to pay less than €7 million ($7.7 million) to sign Ouédraogo from Schalke next summer. The exit clause is significantly more for foreign clubs and is thought to be around $20 million or more. The clause also includes bonus payments should Schalke get promoted or Ouédraogo be called up to the German senior national team.
Those are significant fees only at first glance. Indeed, a fee of around $7 million is a small obstacle for Bundesliga clubs like Bayern, Leipzig, or any other club. Much will come down to Ouédraogo himself; which club will offer the best plan for his development? One thing seems for certain: Schalke is set to lose its super talent it is now only a question of time.
Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing podcast and Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been featured in The Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth