FC Bayern starts preparing for the new season accompanied by exciting questions. Three examples: When will Manuel Neuer start again? Is Harry Kane Coming? Who will be the new sports director?
47 days after the gripping and turbulent Bundesliga final, FC Bayern Munich’s official training session under coach Thomas Tuchel is scheduled for this Thursday.
The first title is in a month – then there will be a Supercup duel with cup winner RB Leipzig in the Allianz Arena. Honorary President Uli Hoeneß stopped by the training ground to watch Neuer’s saves.
Question 1: How does FC Bayern start?
The first stars such as captain Neuer, national player Serge Gnabry or newcomer Konrad Laimer have already completed medical checks and individual training. This Thursday the ensemble will be completed. After examinations and performance tests, the entire squad will train for the first time in Munich on Saturday before the training camp at Lake Tegernsee. There are three public units. A few days after the sweaty week in Bavaria’s Alpine idyll, the team presentation will take place on July 23 in the Allianz Arena. After that, Munich will jet to Asia from July 24th to August 3rd, where three friendlies will be played against Manchester City, Liverpool FC and Kawasaki Frontale.
Question 2: Is Manuel Neuer fully involved right from the start?
That remains to be seen. The aim was for the captain to be fully involved in the preparations after breaking his leg in December. It was recently speculated that the 37-year-old still needed time. By the time the Bundesliga starts on August 18, the keeper, who says he was doing “greatly”, definitely wants to be number 1 in the Munich goal again. According to a report in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, however, Neuer will not be traveling to Asia. A deployment right at the start of the season has become less likely. However, rumors of a possible setback have turned out to be exaggerated.
Question 3: What’s next for the other Munich goalkeepers?
When Neuer is 100% fit, he’s set in goal. That is why the new replacement Yann Sommer (34), who was signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach for eight million euros in the winter, is looking to make a change. Inter Milan is considered a candidate. The Swiss also wants to be in goal for his national team at the EM 2024, as Neuer would like with the recently weakening DFB selection. Goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (26) is also about to leave Bayern. VfB Stuttgart could be a candidate, but there is also interest from abroad in the keeper, who was last loaned to AS Monaco. Johannes Schenk (20) and Sven Ulreich (34) are other goalkeepers in the squad.
Question 4: Is Harry Kane Coming?
The question about Kane is about the Munich king transfer. A year after Robert Lewandowski’s departure to FC Barcelona, the Tottenham Hotspur striker is the go-to choice for attack. And so does Kane, by all accounts. It is quite possible that the captain of the England national team will become Bayern’s first €100 million transfer. However, Tottenham’s new boss Ange Postecoglou would like to keep the 29-year-old in London. Paris Saint-Germain is also said to be interested in Kane, who is considering the station very carefully for what will probably be his last major professional contract. Should he stay at Tottenham for another year, there is also the option that he could come to Munich on a free transfer in twelve months. But then Bayern would have to push for new alternatives for this year. As well as in case Kane doesn’t come at all. This poker will certainly drag on for some time.
Question 5: What else is happening?
After the free transfers of Konrad Laimer (26) and Raphael Guerreiro (29), the third newcomer is Min-Jae Kim (26). The central defender comes from SSC Napoli for an alleged 50 million euros. Lucas Hernández (27) moved to PSG for about the same amount. The situation in midfield will be exciting for the Munich team. After the return of Marcel Sabitzer (29), who was loaned to Manchester United, and the arrival of Laimer, the offer there is plentiful – especially since Tuchel apparently still wants a defensive midfielder. Otherwise, defender Benjamin Pavard (27), who keeps flirting with a change, could reorient himself. Sadio Mané (31) can also go if Munich finds an adequate buyer. Manchester City defender Kyle Walker (33) is a candidate for access.
Question 6: How excited is Tuchel?
It’s huge, of course – especially since he’s starting his first preparation as a Bayern coach. After taking over his team from Julian Nagelsmann during a turbulent time during the big Munich coaching bang, he can now tune it in according to his ideas. However, he also has to deliver this season. After dropping out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the DFB Cup, he still celebrated the championship after the Dortmund blunder. The Munich claim is more than a title.
Question 7: Is there already a new sports director or sports director?
No. And the new Munich management doesn’t want to be pushed there either. After the separation of sports director Hasan Salihamidzic at the Bundesliga final, a team of several takes care of personnel planning around the new CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, former boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, honorary president Uli Hoeneß and Tuchel. By the end of the year, Bayern would like to hire a new sports director or sports director.