Bajung Darboe: Who is the American youth international joining Bayern Munich?

15.01.2025

Bajung Darboe has officially joined the Bayern Munich reserves from LAFC. bundesliga.com profiles the up-and-coming US youth international...

Stats correct as of 19 December 2024

Bajung Darboe

Age: 18 (born: 7 Novembr 2006)
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Attacking midfielder/winger
Country: USA (two U17 caps)/Finland/Gambia

Key stats

Darboe's January 2025 move to Bayern was facilitated by the 'Red&Gold Football' development programme between the record champions and Major League Soccer's LAFC, designed to provide young players with a path to senior football.

The 6'0" attacking midfielder has already made the right noises in that regard, with over 25 appearances in the MLS Next Pro division (the USA's third tier) under his teenaged belt. Half fell in LAFC II colours, the other half for Philadelphia Union II. He also played for Minnesota United's youths, before turning heads during a short trial at Bayern in 2022 - the same year he debuted for the USA's U17s.

"A big dream has come true for me. It's nice to see where my path has taken me," said Darboe, who was born in Gambia but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. "It was always a big wish of mine to get to pull on the shirt of this great club one day. The fact it's happened now fills me with a lot of pride. I'm still battling the jet lag but otherwise I feel good and ready to get started."

*Our new attacker

Darboe is not the first American to arrive at Bayern, with the likes of Chris Richards, Malik Tillman and Taylor Booth all in Munich early in their careers.

While his compatriots fuelled his desire to make Munich the first European port of call of his fledgling career, it is some of the superstars of Bayern's current first-team squad that inspire Darboe on the pitch.

"I always looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo when I was a child. At Bayern I look up to Jamal Musiala, Kingsley Coman and most of all Joshua Kimmich," said the youngster. "His mentality and discipline are incredible."

Plays a bit like: Emil Forsberg

More a creator-in-chief than taker of chances, Darboe has a touch of Emil Forsberg about his game. Like the former RB Leipzig playmaker - now of New York Red Bulls - he's naturally right-footed and can operate from a wide attacking role.

"I'm comfortable in several positions in attack, so I'm versatile," Darboe explained after joining Bayern. "I like to use my pace down the wings and go for goal myself, but I always have my head up and look for team-mates in better positions."

Did you know?

Darboe - who was born in Gambia, but holds American-Finnish citizenship - is poised to become only the third MLS homegrown player to join Bayern after Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps) and Justin Che (FC Dallas).

What they're saying

"My family are proud, they're very happy for me. My parents have accompanied me all the way on my journey and are very happy that the efforts of the past years have paid off. Without their support I wouldn't be here today. I have a lot to thank them for." - Darboe

"We've known Bajung for some time and had him over for a trial training session in Munich. We're really happy that he's now joined us and can establish himself in European football with our reserve team." - Jochen Sauer, Bayern's Youth Development and Campus Director