FC Bayern is reportedly desperately looking for a new defensive midfielder. Ex-national player Dietmar Hamann recently suggested to the Munich squad planners that they use Mainz for the Bundesliga competition. Coach Bo Svensson now clearly dismissed Hamann’s suggestion.
Would Anton Stach from 1. FSV Mainz 05 be a suitable transfer candidate for FC Bayern? Should the German record champions rather use their league rivals than the recently traded – and much more expensive – superstars like England international Declan Rice or Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic? According to “Sky” expert Dietmar Hamann, the answer is yes.
The former national player had recently recommended the 24-year-old to FC Bayern in an interview with “AZ”: “I think Anton Stach from Mainz is very exciting. He’s a worker, not that well known.” The Bayern squad needs fewer “stars” and more “craftsmen,” Hamann also argued.
When asked if he thought his protégé was mature enough to move to Bayern Munich, Mainz coach Bo Svensson had to ask in disbelief at the matchday press conference on Thursday: “Who said that?” After that, he made it clear that he probably doesn’t see his players at Bayern Munich yet.
Mainz coach: Stach has shown “potential and talent” too rarely
“I don’t know how many games Hamann saw from us this year,” said Svensson meaningfully. Although he thinks “a lot” of Stach, the midfielder has also had “some problems” this season: “With injuries, with setbacks, but also with building on the strong previous season. He played a decent season. But if If you know his potential, there is still room for improvement in my rating.”
Anton Stach “didn’t bring his potential and talent to the pitch as often as he and we had hoped,” the Mainz coach clearly said.
The defensive midfielder came to Mainz from Greuther Fürth in 2021 and was in Bo Svensson’s starting XI 24 times in 2022/23. In March 2022, Stach made his senior international debut against Israel (2-0).