No one thinks Niclas Fullkrug is a wunderkind. No wonder. When he celebrated his 29th birthday, it was as 2. Bundesliga player. His last three seasons in the German top flight had produced two, four and six goals respectively. He had managed one prolific season in the Bundesliga. He could have resembled a German Danny Graham. He has never played in the Champions League and probably never will. Now he is a World Cup scorer, against the potential World Cup winners.
Kai Havertz was supposed to be the wunderkind. Indeed, he was the wunderkind. He made his Germany debut as a teenager, scoring 17 Bundesliga goals in a season before he turned 20. Real Madrid wanted him before he was 21. Chelsea got him for the kind of fee – some £71million – in a depressed market that marked him out as a generational talent. Before his 22nd birthday, he had scored the winner in a Champions League final.
