The Bundesliga is in winter break. The transfer window opens again from January 1st. What commitments should Bavaria and Co. make?
First of all, those responsible at the Bundesliga clubs can take a breather. But not for long, because the winter break is only short-lived. The transfer window opens on the first day of next year. But where do the top clubs FC Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt actually need support from new players?
Harry Kane returned from a torn muscle fiber last Friday and immediately demonstrated his class in the 5-1 win against RB Leipzig. However, the English striker’s recent injury highlighted that Bayern lack a suitable replacement for Kane. The role of backup striker was filled for several years by Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, who never claimed to be ahead of Kane or Robert Lewandowski in the internal pecking order.
Bayern now need exactly such an easy-care attacker again. At the age of 35, Thomas Müller no longer has the legs to keep up the high pace for 60 or 90 minutes. Other Bayern attackers feel more comfortable on the wing.
Possible candidate? The challenge is to find a quality striker but one who is happy with his role. Signing a top-class player like João Pedro from Brighton or Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting is actually out of the question in January, if only because of the financial costs involved. A young, up-and-coming striker like Ricardo Pepi, with whom Bayern have recently been linked, needs playing time and should not be constantly sitting on the bench.
But what about one? Stürmer à la Alexandre Lacazette? The Frenchman is now 33 years old and has shone over many seasons, especially in Ligue 1. His current club Olympique Lyon has to make up 100 million euros in its own balance sheet as soon as possible in order to avoid forced relegation. A sale of Lacazette was already under discussion in the summer. Given Lyon’s needs, Bayern could possibly strike and bring in a veteran for the bench.
For a long time it seemed as if the Werkself would soon have to find a replacement for Florian Wirtz. However, there are now many indications that the Leverkusen playmaker will extend his contract again. In this respect, discussions about who Bayer 04 could sign as a possible successor are unnecessary.
But the Leverkusen team will probably not prevent another departure – namely that of defense chief Jonathan Tah, whose contract expires in the summer. Of course, those in charge around Simon Rolfes could wait until the end of the season before signing a replacement if one of Tah’s current sidemen doesn’t want to take on his role in the future. But perhaps there will be an opportunity to land a top transfer for central defense in January anyway.
Possible candidate? Normally, Bayer 04 primarily looks at talent that can be developed, which at best will later be sold on at a higher price. In this context, the rumors around work Abdukodir Khusanov not completely taken out of thin air. The Uzbek has developed into one of the promoted players in Ligue 1 in recent months while working for RC Lens and would be available on the transfer market given Lens’ overall situation. After all, top agent Jorge Mendes is said to have been commissioned by the club to find a buyer for the 20-year-old.
The only problem: Interest should also come from the Premier League and Madrid. But Leverkusen, despite having smaller pockets than many English first division clubs, has established itself as a talent factory and could therefore be attractive for a player like Khusanov.
Otherwise? After a mixed phase during the first half of the season, Xabi Alonso’s team has recovered impressively. The Werkself recently had eight wins in a row and were able to position themselves as Bayern’s first pursuers. There is no urgent need to catch up in any position in the squad.