FEATURE | Analysing Bayern Munich’s transfer window

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An area that Bayern Munich have been so strong in since 2005 is their expertise to navigate the transfer market, but in recent seasons other Bundesliga clubs appear to be closing the gap. There is seemingly less and less of a monopoly on the league, and Bayern Munich are no longer able to sign the league’s best players. As such, club bosses have often been criticised in recent transfer windows for an inability to land their number one targets.

This year has been no different. A key position that Bayern Munich wanted to strengthen was at left-wing, and they had no fewer than seven candidates, ranging from Cody Gakpo and Bradley Barcola to Rafael Leao and Gabriel Martinelli. Just how concrete Bayern’s interest was remains to be seen, but had the Rekordmeister been able to land their number one target, Florian Wirtz, then they wouldn’t have spent almost the entire summer with a never-ending list.

Come September, and Bayern’s transfer window appears a little underwhelming. 

Bayern Munich Departures

 

With the departure of ever-present Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich have entered a new era. They’ve lost no fewer than 13 players on a permanent basis with their biggest departure Mathys Tel, who joined Tottenham for €35m. The French attacker was once seen by Max Eberl and Co. as the future face of Bayern Munich but not in Vincent Kompany’s plans, the 20-year-old sought minutes elsewhere, and instead joined Spurs on a permanent basis.

Kingsley Coman also left the club for Al-Nassr and Leroy Sane to Galatasaray on a free transfer, hence Bayern’s need to strengthen the wide areas. They’ve also lost experience in Joao Palhinha and Eric Dier and youth in Paul Wanner and Adam Aznou, two players that could have probably contributed to the club in the long-term, while Jonah Kusi-Asare left for Fulham on loan.

Bayern Munich Arrivals

Before the FIFA Club World Cup even started, Bayern Munich moved quickly to tie up deals for Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof. After missing out on number one candidate Florian Wirtz, Bayern instead opted to sign Luis Diaz for €70m, essentially helping Liverpool fund a move for their preferred option. They also wanted to sign a back-up to Harry Kane which ideally would have been Nick Woltemade, but after failing to meet Stuttgart’s valuation, instead opted for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson on a loan deal worth €16.5m, a staggering fee.

Bayern Munich Transfer Summary

You can’t help but feel that Bayern Munich hit the panic button this window. Had they have just paid what Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart wanted for Wirtz and Woltemade, they would have been in a far better position. Signing Diaz certainly brings a wealth of experience to the club and adds quality to the wide areas following the departures of Coman and Sane, but he’s not far off turning 29 and entering the latter stages of his career, and for €70m, fans can’t help but feel as though their club have overpaid for the Colombian.

And when it comes to Jackson, there are question marks over the player’s quality, and how he would fit into this Bayern Munich team. Paying €16.5m to sign the Senegalese forward on loan with a mandatory purchase option once a certain number of games has been reached feels like a huge gamble from the record champions, who left it until the eleventh hour despite spending much of their summer pursuing two targets.

There’s also question marks over Bayern’s depth. Lennart Karl (17) and Wisdom Mike (16) have been on Bayern’s bench in the first two matchdays of the Bundesliga season and with key injuries and a long season with European and Pokal fixtures, they have a worryingly small squad.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder