Bundesliga: Top five youngest squads in the league

The top flight league of Germany houses some of the best young players.

The German Bundesliga has always been a competition where incredible young talents are seen plying their trade. To see such exceptional players regularly at the highest level makes German football massively exciting to watch.

Teams like Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04 and more have always produced top-level talent and continue to do so due to their incredible scouting network. The eye for identifying young talent and giving them a platform at an early stage is something that the Bundesliga is known for.

This presents a perfect opportunity to focus on the youngest squads in the league, that have been fielded this term by the clubs involved in the German top flight. Here are the five youngest squads in the Bundesliga in the 2020/21 campaign:

5. Borussia Dortmund - 26 years

Eight-time league champions and one-time UEFA Champions League winners, Borussia Dortmund have a knack for producing some of the best talents. Sticking to tradition, this time around as well, they have one of the youngest squads in the league with an average age of 26 years.

The onus will be on this young squad to improve and challenge Bayern Munich’s unending domination of the domestic competitions. Some of their best young players are Dan-Axel Zagadou (21), Jude Bellingham (17), Giovanni Reyna (18), Jadon Sancho (20) and Erling Haaland (20). 

4. Werder Bremen and FSV Mainz - 25.9 years

Werder Bremen are one of the most iconic teams in the Bundesliga and are widely known across the globe. The four-time league winners have always produced brilliant young players. However, recent years have been a struggle for the club, who have maintained their top tier status for the last 40-consecutive years.

Theirs is a young squad coming up at 25.9 years including the likes of Maximilian Eggestein (23), Milot Rashica (24), and Tahith Chong (20) who is on loan from Manchester United.

FSV Mainz are also one of the clubs that would like to improve on their last season’s performance and it will be a tough task to achieve that goal with one of the youngest squads in the league.

Mainz have a lot of youngsters to watch out for and some notable mentions include the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta (23), Leandro Barreiro (20) and Moussa Niakhaté (24).

3. FC Köln - 25.7 years 

FC Köln are also one of the clubs that are historically rich and have some of the most passionate supporters. Based in the city of Cologne, the club have the third youngest squad in the league at 25.7 years.

The three-time Bundesliga winners ensured promotion last year and managed to survive in the top tier for another season barely after finishing 14th. The young players in their squad will have the responsibility to improve on last year’s disappointing performance. Some of their best young players are Sebastiaan Bornauw (21), Jan Thielmann (18) and Ismail Jakobs (21). 

2. RB Leipzig - 25.1 years 

A club that have been in existence for only 11 years and in the top flight for five years, have quickly become one of the strongest teams in Germany and that too with a plethora of exceptional young players, brought in by smart scouting and financial muscle.

Champions League semi-finalists in 2019/20, Leipzig have quickly become one of the contenders to challenge FCB’s supremacy. Their squad is the second youngest in the Bundesliga and includes the likes of Dayot Upamecano (22), Christopher Nkunku (23), Dani Olmo (22) and Justin Kluivert (21).

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1. VfB Stuttgart - 24.9 years

VFB Stuttgart have fielded the youngest squad in the German Bundesliga with an average age of 24.9 years. The five-time league winners have fallen into mediocrity in the past few years. After succumbing to relegation in 2018/19, Stuttgart are back in the top flight this season.

However, it will be an uphill task for the club to prevent a similar humiliation with a young squad that lacks experience. Their roster does have some decent young players though, including the likes of Orel Mangala (22), Nicolás González (22) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (22) who is on loan from Arsenal.

The data has been compiled from the CIES Football Observatory’s report.

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