After Eric Dier, FC Bayern also wants to bring Nordi Mukiele from Paris Saint-Germain to the Isar. The 26-year-old knows the Bundesliga inside and out from his time at RB Leipzig. But could he actually help the team? sport.de does the quick check!
Before moving to FC Bayern: facts and figures about Nordi Mukiele
The now 26-year-old defender was born in Montreuil, France, in 1997. After training at Stade Laval, Mukiele made his breakthrough in Ligue 1 with Montpellier HSC.
In 2018, RB Leipzig finally struck and brought the all-rounder to Saxony for 16 million euros. Although he often shuttled between the starting eleven and the bench, Mukiele was a valuable alternative for the Champions League participants for four years.
The defensive man played a total of 146 competitive games for RB, in which he collected ten goals and eleven assists. Mukiele mostly played on the right defensive wing, but with a guard height of 1.87 meters he was also always an option in central defense. The current highlight: In mid-2021, the Frenchman was allowed to compete in the Equipe tricolore for the first (and to date only) time.
In the summer of 2022, Mukiele embarked on a new adventure and joined Paris Saint-Germain in his home country. Twelve million euros changed hands in return.
After a promising start at PSG, he was slowed down almost exactly a year ago by a persistent thigh injury that kept him out of action until the end of the season. Since then, Mukiele has lost touch.
486 minutes on the pitch, spread over ten games, does not correspond to the self-image of the professional, who is contractually bound until 2027.
Before moving to FC Bayern: Nordi Mukiele’s transfer fee and contract details
Bayern’s sporting director Christoph Freund makes no secret of his interest in Mukiele.
“We’ll see what else the squad might need. Basically, I won’t go into names, but basically Nordi is a type of player who can of course play at the back right. He’s definitely not an uninteresting type of player,” the Austrian admitted in an interview with the “Image” is telling.
According to “kicker”, FC Bayern would like to loan Mukiele out in the winter. PSG is reportedly willing to do so, but is demanding a purchase obligation for the summer. This in turn doesn’t suit the Bundesliga club, who just want to include a purchase option in the loan contract. It is said that this could be between 20 and 25 million euros.
Paris only wants to give the green light if a replacement for Mukiele can be found. A possible swap deal with Joshua Kimmich, which was brought into play by “L’Equipe”, has meanwhile relegated Freund to the realm of fable.
Before moving to FC Bayern: Nordi Mukiele’s strengths and weaknesses
Mukiele is considered a robust, extremely reliable tackler who can be moved back and forth between the center of the defense and the wing without much adjustment time. Coach Thomas Tuchel is looking for that flexibility.
Mukiele is also a model professional off the pitch. A small mistake immediately after his arrival in Leipzig, when he showed up late in the dressing room before a Europa League match because he was playing on his cell phone in the dugout, has long been forgotten. His coach at the time, Ralf Rangnick, left him out of the squad for one game, after which everything was fine again.
What Bayern fans shouldn’t expect from Mukiele, however, are dynamic wing runs à la Alphonso Davies. The potential newcomer is neither a sprinter nor a dribbler.
Nevertheless, he should have the tactical and technical skills to survive in Munich – especially since the competition from Noussair Mazraoui and Konrad Laimer is certainly not overwhelming.
The former has so far embodied a staid average, even if he is a bit more dynamic than Mukiele when moving forward. On the other hand, the Moroccan doesn’t have nearly the duel quality of the former Leipzig player.
Laimer, on the other hand, had his strongest performances in RB’s midfield before signing with FC Bayern. Tuchel would certainly not be unhappy to be able to use the Austrian more in the control center again thanks to the hoped-for Mukiele deal.
Heiko Lütkehus