FC Bayern signed Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer. The national team player is expected to play a key role for the record champions and settle in quickly. Now it has come to light that Bayern had shown interest much earlier.
Before his time at Eintracht Frankfurt, Brown played for 1. FC Nürnberg. There, he progressed through numerous youth teams after transferring to the club from Regensburg.
Even as a youth, Brown was considered a great talent who attracted interest from several clubs at an early age. This has now been confirmed by the player’s mentor, Christian Lichtenauer, in an interview with the Abendzeitung München. He provided insight into the national team player’s youth career.
Bayern had Brown on their radar early on
Soccer was always a big part of Brown’s life. “He loved soccer, and for him, there was nothing else. I can’t even say where that came from. He played with his friends on the street or in indoor soccer facilities,” Lichtenauer explained.
It was clear early on that soccer could be more than just a hobby for Brown and that he had what it takes to prove himself at a high level.
“He had sensational vision and played through balls that were exceptionally good. But those passes rarely found their mark because his teammates were too slow,” Lichtenauer recalls.
The move to Jahn Regensburg was essentially decisive for Brown’s future career. There, he quickly played his way into the spotlight, and FC Bayern had him on their radar early on.
But they weren’t the only ones. When asked which teams had him on their radar back then, his mentor said: “Ingolstadt, who were in the Bundesliga at the time, and 1. FC Nürnberg. Bayern Munich also invited us to make initial contact. But at that point, we hadn’t really considered signing the kid because the distance would have been too great for us.”
In the end, the record champions and the left-footed player did end up together after all.