Julian Nagelsmann on Paul Wanner rejecting a Germany call-up: “He wouldn’t have been able to make a big impression now anyway.”
Speaking at his first press conference of the November international break, head coach Julian Nagelsmann has addressed Paul Wanner rejecting a Germany call-up.
Earlier last week, it was reported that Wanner had turned down the opportunity to join up with the senior Germany side for this international break and instead play for the under-21s. The 18-year-old is eligible to play for both Germany and Austria and has still yet to make a decision on his future.
On Wanner rejecting the call-up, Nagelsmann said:
“He wouldn’t have been able to make a big impression now anyway. He’s under 23 – you need more than just two games. Of course I would have been happy if he were here: that’s why we wanted to call him up. Generally speaking, I think what he said was very good. There’s hype around him because he’s eligible to play for two nations. If he could only play for one nation, his name would probably never have appeared in your newspapers, except perhaps when he moved to Bayern. But of course, as an association, we fight for the top talents. But I’m not worried because I think it’s a personal decision which country he wants to play for. I don’t want a player to decide because he thinks he has a better chance of playing time for one nation. That’s completely the wrong approach because it’s about the heart. We have the idea that he can play a role in our World Cup squad if his development continues. But of course he’s still at the beginning.”
In this international break, Wanner would have to compete with Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt, Serge Gnabry and Chris Führich in one of the three positions behind the striker.
With the Nations League games against Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Hungary counting as competitive games, even a five-minute cameo from Wanner would have locked him to Germany making it close to impossible for him to switch allegiances if he wished later down the line.
Wanner is having a good start to his loan spell at Heidenheim, in 15 games across national and international competitions he has five goals and two assists.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
