Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp pulled a surprise out of the hat on Thursday by naming 17-year-old Borussia Mönchengladbach prodigy Wael Mohya in his squad for the first time following the youngster's impressive start to the season.
In an interview published by the German Football Association (DFB), Klopp explained his decision to include the highly-rated attacking midfielder.
"He's one of those cases where you simply have to take notice. There aren't many 17-year-olds currently playing in the Bundesliga. That alone is an outstanding achievement. But he's also doing well – really well. I've been in contact with both him and his family, and we've discussed how we want to approach things. I'm really keen to build the future together with these boys, including Wael, without making any promises or anything like that," he said, adding:
"I would say that I have been working with young, highly talented people for quite some time now, and it is something I am very passionate about. I explained this to the Mohya family, and we then agreed that we would bring him along to give him a chance to experience it and see how things go."
Klopp went on to stress that there are no guarantees Mohya will make the squad for either of the upcoming games against Serbia and the Netherlands, explaining that the main priority is to see the 17-year-old in training and how he conducts himself as part of the national team setup.
"Above all, the important thing is to let him experience the training sessions firsthand, because I think that is really valuable when you have the opportunity. And we would like to continue doing this in the future whenever possible: always having a place in the squad where we can say, 'Okay, come along.' Let's see how he does, whether he plays, and whether he even makes it into any of the matchday squads. Of course, it will always depend on his performances in training. That's only logical," Klopp said.
"But it's also about seeing how a young guy conducts himself, both on and off the pitch, and having conversations with him. I've had three conversations with him so far, and they've all been excellent, I have to say. I wasn't as self-confident as he is at 17, but then again, I wasn't as good as he is at 17 either! So I'm really looking forward to having Wael with us."
Mohya, who is also eligible to represent Morocco, only made his debut for Germany's U21 side in September.
He has three goals and one assist in 10 games for Gladbach this season.
