AC Milan’s interest in teenage defender Ljubo Puljic highlights recurring problem for Bayern Munich

AC Milan are reportedly in talks with Bayern Munich over the signing of centre-back Ljubo Puljic.

The 18-year-old Croatia youth international, whose contract expires this summer, joined the Bavarian club in May 2023 in the face of rival interest from Barcelona and Juventus.

Having progressed rapidly through Bayern’s youth ranks, Puljic now plays for reserve team Bayern II, for whom he has made five appearances in the Bavarian regional league this season.

While the defender has yet to feature for Bayern’s first team, he is understood to remain a focus of interest from several top clubs, with Milan regarding him as a solid prospect for the future.

What does Milan’s interest in Ljubo Puljic mean for Bayern Munich?

Should Milan’s overtures prove successful, it would continue an alarming pattern of Bayern losing young talent to foreign and domestic rivals.

Unable to see a path into the first team, Angelo Stiller left Munich for Hoffenheim in the summer of 2021 after struggling to get minutes for the first team. Having failed to make a single Bundesliga appearance at the Allianz Arena, the 24-year-old has gone on to become a midfield mainstay for Stuttgart and earn five caps for Germany.

Bayern lost out in similar fashion when Kenan Yildiz departed for Juventus in July 2022. The forward, who who had been at the club since the age of seven, has since acquired superstar status in Turin, with manager Luciano Spalletti reportedly making his long-term tenure conditional on the retention of Yildiz.

After leaving for Hoffenheim, Stiller articulated the scale of the challenge facing young prospects at Bayern, while also making plain the club’s usefulness as a stepping stone.

“As a young player, it’s extremely difficult for you to get a chance,” said the midfielder. “But I don’t see myself as a failure: I was able to draw attention to myself at Bayern, and now I get the chance to prove myself in Hoffenheim.”

Is Puljic the latest evidence of a recurring trend?

It remains to be seen whether Puljic will blossom in similar fashion, be it at Bayern or elsewhere. Still, the problem is undoubtedly becoming a recurring one for the Bavarian club, with reports suggesting Puljic, like Stiller before him, has concerns about the prospects of a first-team breakthrough.

Should Puljic move to Milan, he could find himself rubbing shoulders with Senegalese centre-back El Hadji Malick Cisse. The 18-year-old, who captained his country at the under-17 World Cup last November and is currently training at a development centre in Dakar, was reportedly wanted by Barcelona. Like Bayern, however, the La Liga champions look likely to be beaten to the punch.

Financial constraints have forced Milan to put an emphasis on youth in recent years, with the likes of Rafael Leão and emerging prospect Francesco Camarda, the 17-year-old striker currently on loan at Lecce, among notable success stories. It would seem Puljic hopes to become the next.