He had only played seven small chunks of matches last year in Ligue 1 (127 minutes combined) in Ligue 1. Fourth choice behind Folarin Balogun, Mika Biereth and George Ilenikhena – yet younger than him by a year – Paris Brunner had not really had the opportunity to express himself. But he is the face of the very successful start to the season for AS Monaco, leader of Ligue 1 before facing PSG on Friday September 4.
The young 20-year-old German striker made a splash against Marseille last week by scoring both goals in Monaco's 2-0 victory. There was this perfectly timed header and above all this insolent individual action, which saw him beat the opposing defense single-handedly. After receiving the ball at the halfway line, he overtook Geoffrey Kondogbia, who he then hooked, before eliminating the second defender with a nice feint and finishing with his left foot.
A step ahead of Balogun, Abline and Biereth?
“I’ve already scored nicer ones among the youngsters, but this one is more important,” laughed the person concerned at the Ligue 1+ microphone on Sunday. Paris Brunner impresses with this athletic power which allows him to win his duels, through running or physical presence. “He is the type of player who, since I arrived, has been talking on the pitch in training, with his goals, his pressing without the ball, his defensive returns and his desire to learn… I like that. He must maintain this ambition and this passion,” praised his coach Filipe Luis, who could decide to start him again, against PSG on Friday evening.
Newly arrived on the Rock, the Brazilian coach was seduced by the very good preparation carried out by the German hopeful which was not in the plans of his predecessors, Adi Hütter and Sébastien Pocognoli. Without being a starter all the time, Paris Brunner finished this phase of growth with the status of top scorer. This argument, combined with the injury absence of rookie Matthis Abline – supposed to be the No. 1 scorer after being bought for 25 million euros this summer – allowed him to start the season as a starter, ahead of Mika Biereth and a Folarin Balogun who is about to leave; and who ultimately stayed.
Also read
His sudden rise in the hierarchy of Monegasque attackers surprised everyone, but he remains a prospect on whom ASM had bet four million euros two years ago. His mixed loan to Cercle Bruges during the 2024-2025 season (8 starts in 28 games, but still 6 goals), then this completely anonymous 2025-2026 exercise, had relegated him to the background. But, Paris Brunner is one of those nuggets predestined from a very young age to reach the top, by dint of terrorizing their opponents in the youth categories.
He was a star in the youth categories
For Borussia Dortmund, whose colors he wore from the age of 14 to 18, he notably scored 26 goals in 42 matches with the U19s when he was only 16 years old. His upgrade had become obvious, as he wandered around in the U17 category, like his start to the 2022-2023 season: 16 goals in his first 5 matches. Paris Brunner was also the face of the German U17 team crowned European champion and world champion in the same year in 2023, both times against the France team.
Under coach Christian Wück, he scored a total of 20 goals in 25 matches. “Among the players I have seen in my career, he is in the Top 10. He plays like a street footballer and these are the kind of players Germany needs,” Wück said in an interview with Le Parisien. Enough to stir up requests, until its transfer to ASM in the summer of 2024.
“He defines a good match based on the goals he scored. If you ask him if he played well or badly and he didn’t score a goal, he will tell you that he played very badly.”
Christian Wück, coach of Paris Brunner with Germany U17
to the newspaper Le Parisien at the end of 2023
A departure which did not rejoice the management of Borussia Dortmund at the time. “We would have liked to link Paris to Borussia Dortmund in the long term, but unfortunately, they did not want to follow the route that we had envisaged,” said sporting director Sebastian Kehl. A few weeks earlier, the situation had become tense between the club and the player, who was sanctioned on a disciplinary level.
“Mark, mark, mark”
Asked about the low use of Paris Brunner in the first team, coach Nuri Sahin assumed his position in front of the press: "I was a young player myself, I became professional at 16. Bert van Marwijk didn't make me play because I was handsome or that I had green eyes. He made me play because he thought I was ready."
Also read
Until this moment in his career, Paris Brunner still often played as a winger, especially in the national team, and appreciated the comparison to his elder Leroy Sané. But he has since settled into the center and AS Monaco does not envisage him in another role. If he continues his momentum from the start of the season (4 goals in 4 matches), he could enter the race for top scorer status in Ligue 1, especially since he has a 100% penalty success rate according to the specialist site Transfermarkt (14/14).
