Jurgen Klopp names his first squad as Germany head coach on Thursday, 17 September, and Paris Brunner has forced his way onto the shortlist. The Monaco striker’s start to the Ligue 1 season, three league goals in four rounds and five in all competitions, has left the new manager with a simple choice: promote him straight to the senior side, or send him down to the U21s.
OneFootball, drawing on reporting from L’Équipe, describes the potential inclusion as a “gamble” Klopp could take in his opening squad. German football outlet Bulinews frames the same call more cautiously, with a U21 slot the more probable landing spot for the 20-year-old.
Brunner’s case rests on what he has done at the Stade Louis-II. He scored twice in Monaco’s 2-0 win over Marseille on 30 August, then added a long-range equaliser at Strasbourg on 12 September in a 1-1 draw. In the Marseille match he led all players on the pitch for shots, shots on target and expected goals, and Monaco, under head coach Filipe Luis, remain unbeaten in the league.
There is a nationality dimension as well. Brunner qualifies for the Democratic Republic of the Congo through his mother and for Germany through his father, and that eligibility question is part of the argument for tying him to the DFB now rather than later.
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Youth pedigree behind the senior debate
Brunner arrives at the discussion with heavy junior credentials. The beIN Sports profile notes he was named Player of the Tournament at the 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and took the Golden Ball at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The route to Ligue 1 has been less smooth. Monaco signed him from Borussia Dortmund in August 2024 on a contract through June 2028 and loaned him to Cercle Brugge, where he made 28 competitive appearances for six goals. His first Monaco season yielded only seven Ligue 1 outings.
The Strasbourg incident hangs over the call-up
A live disciplinary case runs in parallel in France. During his goal at the Stade de la Meinau, Brunner made a throat-slicing gesture toward the Strasbourg supporters. The National Ethics Council referred the matter to the Ligue de Football Professionnel’s disciplinary commission, and Get French Football News reports the hearing is scheduled for 23 September.
Brunner has since offered his own account of the gesture.
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“The supporters were talking about my family, about my mum, my dad. I could see them. There was a lot of emotion. I didn’t want to be disrespectful. I wouldn’t say that I regret it, but it isn’t the message that I wanted to send. It was misunderstood. I wanted to say, ‘What a goal; it’s over!'”
A one- to four-match ban is on the table, but any suspension would only take effect after the international window.
Klopp reads out his squad on Thursday from the DFB campus in Frankfurt. Germany open the 2026-27 Nations League away to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 24 September, before hosting Greece three days later.
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