David Santos Daiber: Who is the Bayern Munich youngster tipped to succeed Joshua Kimmich?

David Santos Daiber has been kitted out with his first professional contract after breaking into the Bayern Munich senior team in 2025/26. Get the lowdown on the teenaged midfield talent…

Stats correct as of 23 March 2026

David Santos Daiber

Age: 19 (born 1 January 2007)
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Defensive midfielder
Country: Portugal (six U19 caps)

Key stats

After being selected in Bayern Munich’s squad for the inaugural FIFA Club World CupDaiber has gone on to play twice under Vincent Kompany in the Bundesligaearning a first professional deal through to summer 2030 for his efforts. It is just reward for a player who has overcome obstacles to earn recognition.

Daiber joined Bayern from local club TSV Milbertshofen in 2016, aged nine. He debuted for the club’s U17s in 2022/23, and was a regular the following season, scoring twice and providing six assists in 21 U17 Bundesliga appearances.

He continued to progress in 2024/25, making the step up to the U19s. Unfortunately, an injury prevented him from playing in more than the 17 matches he did throughout the campaignbut he recovered to feature in the final three matches of the U19 Bundesliga season, starting all three and even captaining the team twice.

In the 2025/26 season, Daiber was called up to the Bayern first-teammaking his senior Bundesliga debut in the side’s 4-0 away win at Heidenheim on the eve of the winter break. From there, he’d be named on the bench four times by Kompany, before getting another late run-out against Borussia Mönchengladbach in early March.

Despite spending the majority of his life in Germany, Daiber chose to represent Portugal at youth levela decision afforded to him thanks to his heritage. He picked up 10 caps for the U17sincluding five at the U17 UEFA Euros in 2024 as he and his teammates made the finaland has added six U19 caps to his international tally.

Plays a bit like: Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich has been a leading member of Bayern’s team for several years, patrolling the middle of the park with composure and leadership. Having already captained the team at youth level, Daiber is a natural successor to the Germany international, whilst his six assists in 2023/24 illustrate like-minded vision. There is a long way to go to reach his level, but Daiber will certainly learn from training with the 31-year-old on a regular basis.

Did you know?

Daiber was actually born in Luxembourg, meaning he can pick from three different countries internationally, with Germany and Portugal also options at youth and senior level.

What are they saying?

“He’s a technically gifted, confident on the ball and extremely reliable midfielder who has made another huge leap forward in his development through regular training with the first-team players over the past few months. We have high hopes for him.” – Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund after Santos Daiber signed a new deal

“The fastest player I’ve ever seen.” – Former Bayern teammate Thomas Müller on Daiber