Munich (AP) – Julian Nagelsmann has confirmed his desire for star striker Robert Lewandowski to stay at Bayern Munich.
“Of course I would like to keep him,” said the Munich soccer coach. Lewandowski is an “extremely important player, very important scorer”. The 33-year-old Polish national player has a contract with the German record champions until the summer of 2023. Recently, however, there has been speculation about a possible early departure from FC Barcelona.
Nagelsmann himself does not have the impression that the six-time Bundesliga top scorer wants to leave. “In the talks, he seems like he would like to stay,” said the 34-year-old, referring to football-specific conversations with Lewandowski. But you can’t “look completely inside your head,” said Nagelsmann. It is also “a bit normal that you always think about your future”. CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic are in exchange with Lewandowski.
The contract of winger Serge Gnabry (26), who is currently struggling with form fluctuations, also expires in the summer of 2023. The contract situation “certainly occupies a bit” the national player, Nagelsmann said, “that’s quite normal and human”.
Since Gnabry is “very reflective” and a “bright little brain”, the open contract question may cost him one or the other “percentage point in performance”.
Complex planning
Nagelsmann described squad planning as a “complex issue”. “We certainly have a few construction sites,” admitted the Munich coach. With a squad that has played together for a long time and has also been successful, at some point it would be time “to do something new. That’s important,” said the 34-year-old.
The loss of income from the Corona crisis is having a negative effect on the German record champions. “We are a bit financially hampered by the pandemic,” said Nagelsmann. “We don’t have the leeway we need to take the big step.”
CL-Aus costs
FC Bayern failed for the second time in a row in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday evening. The semifinals are “not a fixed planning factor” for the finance department, but “always the goal worth striving for,” said Nagelsmann. The club lost several million as a result.
The coach, who came from RB Leipzig in the summer, reported to “important players” that there were “difficult and tricky negotiations”. The contracts of the leading players Lewandowski (33), Manuel Neuer (36) and Thomas Müller (32) will expire in the summer of 2023, as will Gnabry’s (26) contract.
Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch (19) and right-back Noussair Mazraoui (24) are traded from Ajax Amsterdam as newcomers. “We’re very good at planning. It’s now about implementation, which isn’t as easy as one would like,” Nagelsmann said about the formation of the squad. He also brought up a possible venture investment. “At some point you have to take a bit of a risk in the hope that more will come of it at the end. We’re at this point right now, thinking about it carefully, calculating it,” said Nagelsmann.