“It will be a big task”
The last dance of the year was a very straightforward affair. 14 seasoned professionals and three young talents from FC Bayern jumped around in front of their own fans again after the 2-1 (2-1) win at VfL Wolfsburg. By far the richest and most successful club in German football’s upper echelon was unable to get more players together after various injuries, illnesses and mishaps in summer squad planning. With 25 players, the Munich team already has the smallest squad in the league.
The resolution for the new year is clear: If Bayern want to catch up with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and at the same time keep up with clubs like Real Madrid or Manchester City in the Champions League, then this thinned-out squad urgently needs growth in January. “We will try to strengthen the team in the winter. But it’s not easy and I don’t know if we’ll succeed,” said coach Thomas Tuchel after the game in Wolfsburg. “Because the winter transfer market is always a little more complicated than the summer.”
It is “very difficult to get players in the middle of the season that we are 100 percent convinced of – both in terms of personality and quality. That we get the whole package: That will be a big task. We all need a little patience and confidence. Otherwise we will continue to push the ones we have.”
Only 4x over 10 million: All of FC Bayern’s winter signings
FCB construction sites: central defense, right defense, defensive midfield
The German series champion now has to work under difficult conditions on the gaps in the squad that he was unable to close in August. Central defense, right defense, defensive midfield: Bayern have a need for that. And every club with which they will enter into transfer negotiations in the coming weeks knows this. Only four times in the club’s history have they spent more than 10 million euros on a new winter signing – the record is Luiz Gustavo’s 17 million euros in 2010/11.
Tuchel’s concerns become clear just by looking at the players with whom the Munich team already agreed or were associated with in the summer. The Portuguese João Palhinha (Fulham FC) has now extended his contract with the London club and interest is said to have cooled down. And according to “Sky” information, Bayern either won’t be able to get their alleged preferred candidate Ronald Araújo (FC Barcelona) or won’t be able to get it until next summer at the earliest.
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In Wolfsburg, Tuchel was once again reminded of how great the risk is of entering the crucial phase of the season without further transfers. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were out sick, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Noussair Mazraoui were injured: In the last game of the year, two professionals, Dayot Upamecano and Raphaël Guerreiro, who had recently had gastrointestinal problems, had to play through. Konrad Laimer also suffered from a damaged knee. “A few were in the red zone,” the coach said.
And so Bayern will have to pay a price even at the beginning of 2024 for the turbulence they created in 2023: when they changed the coach, the sports director and the CEO within a few months. And then in the summer all personnel issues were negotiated in a transfer committee that had more members (7) than transfers were made (5) – including royal transfer Harry Kane. At least Tuchel now has a new sports director at his side. “I think something will happen,” said Christoph Freund on “Sky” about possible winter transfers. “We want to position ourselves so that we can achieve our goals in the spring.”
And despite all the criticism of the squad planning, a 95 million euro purchase by Kane in Wolfsburg showed once again that he exceeded even the wildest expectations in his first four months in Munich: The Englishman ended the year with his 21st goal of the season and a clear message: “Bayer Leverkusen is pushing us. They have a strong team, they play really good football, they have a great coach.” But: “We still have a lot more left in the tank. Bundesliga, Champions League – and then also the European Championship here in Germany: There’s a big year ahead of us!”
Kane beckons record: most goals in a Bundesliga first half of the season
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