The Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich cruised past Turkish side Galatasaray with a 2-1 win in the Champions League, securing their place in the Round of 16 with two games to spare. This season, the Bavarians have remained undefeated in both domestic and European competitions.
Bayern Munich’s latest126 million addition Harry Kane‘s brace helped them seal their spot in the knockouts. Now, reports suggest the club is on the verge of signing Australian teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda from the A-League.
Nestory Irankunda player profile
Nestory Irankunda was born in 2006 in Kigoma, a city in Tanzania. At just 3 months old, his parents flew to Australia to seek shelter as refugees following a civil war crisis in their home country. He began his football career with an academy named Adelaide Croatia Raiders Soccer Club in southern Australia.
The teenager broke into the scene when he joined the A-League club Adelaide United and eventually earned a promotion to the main team at just 15 years old during the 2021–22 season. For two seasons, he remained an asset coming off the bench. In his first two seasons with Adelaide United, he accumulated eight goals while playing 800 minutes as a substitute.
The U17 Australia International possesses explosive pace and a strong right foot. His ability to score screamers and take on defenders in duels attracted the interest of big European clubs such as Liverpool, Inter Milan, and AC Milan in May of this year.
In his first league start this season, Irankunda scored a stunning goal to break the deadlock for his side in a 6-0 win against Melbourne City. The 17-year-old forward has started all three matches for his club this season. However, in a recent 1-1 draw, he received a red card, showing there’s still room for maturity as a player.
Bayern closing in on Irankunda
The Adelaide United Wonderkid is soon expected to showcase his highly-rated game in the Bundesliga in a sensational switch from the A-League. According to Fabrizio Romano, Bayern Munich has verbally agreed on a £3 million transfer fee with add-ons.
If this much-anticipated deal happens, Nestory Irankunda will become the highest-paid record transfer in the history of the Australian League, surpassing Marco Tilio’s €1.75 million switch to Celtic earlier in June this year. However, FIFA regulations pose the only hurdle preventing him from moving to Europe before turning 18 years old next year.
