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Today’s exclusive transfer round-up from Bundesliga insider Christian Falk, featuring Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Dortmund and more.
Bayern Munich’s pursuit of a centre-back is a very complicated story! Eric Dier was really close to joining the club this summer, but I heard his side wanted a long-term contract and Bayern refused saying, ‘no, that’s too long’. Now, Bayern Munich pursued Ronald Araujo of FC Barcelona, there was a lot of video chat and talks, with the player one day saying, ‘yes’ and the next day ‘no’. At the end of it all, Barcelona said, ‘not this winter’. The Uruguayan was the No.1 target for Bayern and then after that they had to go down the list for the plan B. On this plan B was, indeed, Eric Dier. At the end of last week, the management and Bayern were very clear over the contract. However, the transfer took some time.
One transfer they pushed for was Radu Dragusin. Bayern tried to hitchhike Tottenham’s deal on Tuesday night. There was a moment where the player said, ‘yes’ but next morning the player said ‘no’, so Bayern had to go out and look for a new player. There was also a call to Kevin Danso’s (who previously played for FC Augsburg but now plays for Lens) management – he is interested but PSG is also interested. It’s currently unclear whether he wants to go somewhere else this winter. If he went to Paris, Bayern Munich then has a big chance to get Nordi Mukiele, the former Leipzig player. There are already talks and he would be perfect for Bayern because he can play centre-back and right-back. He was a little higher on the list compared to Eric Dier. But if PSG doesn’t have a substitute for him, they won’t let him go, as Achraf Hakimi is playing in his position and is currently away at AFCON. So it’s unclear.
Eric Dier landed in Munich yesterday for a medical check. Tuchel likes the player very much because he can play right-back, centre-back and as a holding six. The plan is that he can play immediately at right-back as Noussair Mazraoui is at the AFCON. It’s also good for Tuchel as Joao Palhinha isn’t an option for Bayern this winter. €60m is too expensive for them. They would have done it in the summer with the fresh money from Liverpool for Ryan Gravenberch, but now they need the money for the centre-back position.
Reinforcing the midfield is not the focus at the moment for Bayern amid their ongoing need for a defensive signing. Despite that, I have read that there were rumours from England that Jordan Henderson and Bayern could be a potential match as he’s allegedly not particularly happy in Saudi Arabia. I heard from Bayern Munich that there are no talks and no interest in the former Liverpool captain.
I think there are just a few clubs in the Premier League ‘Big Six’ who can compare with Bayern Munich when it comes to money and sporting targets. That’s why Bayern is so proud that things worked out with Harry Kane, as it’s a signal to everyone that if Bayern Munich wants a player, they can even get a Premier League superstar. I think that counts for any league; for instance, Ronald Araujo would be interested in joining Bayern. I don’t think there are many clubs where Bayern would have no chance. In this case, it’s just a question of money. We’ve all seen this when someone like Manchester City are at the table. Against any other club, Bayern had a realistic chance of signing Erling Haaland, but then City can pay a lot more when it comes to salary. Bayern can’t because of the financial structure in place; it’s a very important factor in how they’re run.
The talks with Alphonso Davies are not very far along at the moment. I’ve mentioned before that at the beginning of the prior summer window there was an agreement in place for €12m-a-year – but then the man behind it, Hasan Salihamidžić, was fired. Now, there is an open window because of the new sporting director, Christoph Freund, and the player’s camp is using this to get more time. David Alaba and Davies are obviously good friends and the former is of course speaking of how great Real Madrid is. Don’t forget that Madrid can also pay a big salary! I think there’s a big chance for Real Madrid at the moment. Also, Davies is not doing so well at Bayern Munich, so they won’t pay any crazy money for him because they’re not confident in his performance levels at the moment. There may be a goodbye for Davies this summer but he’s not signed anything yet with either party, so we have to wait.
In Germany, everyone’s happy that we’re getting a big name like Jadon Sancho back in the Bundesliga. Everybody remembers the great football player that Sancho was before his move to Manchester United. He always brought the performance. They’re hoping in Dortmund that he can show this again. From the first moment Dortmund was discussing the transfer with him, they made it very clear that he’ll play and play and play. They know his quality. It’s a very cheap deal for Dortmund – they’ll pay a little bit more than €3m all in all (including salary and transfer fee). In the end, perhaps, Manchester United could get a better player back.
Sancho landed at Dortmund airport on Wednesday evening at 9:39 p.m. on flight PVD16R. He was on board the same Embraer Phenom 300 private plane along with fellow new arrival Ian Maatsen (21) who had flown to Dortmund from Chelsea. Maatsen has a very good chance to make an impact in his position, particularly with Ramy Bensebaini struggling at the moment – not to mention also being involved in the AFCON. I think it could be a really, really good move for him. Dortmund also has a release clause they could activate, so there’s a chance he could stay there next summer.
Sancho’s arrival would put a lot of pressure on Donyell Malen. He could be sold immediately. There was an idea of a swap deal with Manchester United for Sancho – they didn’t go for it. But if there is an offer coming from the Premier League for Malen, Dortmund will be open to talks.
There is concern about Paris Brunner and Cole Campbell’s behaviour. They allegedly left their hotel rooms in Marbella after midnight because they were hungry. But this wasn’t the first misstep from Brunner. If you already had problems and then misbehave again, that raises questions in terms of whether he has the professional mentality to succeed. The first time Brunner crossed the line was at a house party in which a few things were damaged. For a long time, no one had any idea what happened – now we know. He had to pay for the damage and after that, he was under close observation. If there’s a big offer from another club, I think Dortmund would consider it.
David Oduru (17) is involved with the camp with Chelsea’s academy. He’s coming from another academy in Ghana. Lothar Matthaus is part of this academy and told me that he’s really proud the young left fullback is now at Chelsea and is hoping that the Blues see his big talent. He’s compared the player with Alphonso Davies and has described him as a very fast footballer with desirable offensive qualities. So perhaps you’ll get the next Davies in the Premier League!
Jorg Schmadtke and the club had an agreement that they would talk at the end of February and the beginning of March over his future. Schmadtke is not sure what he will decide then. He’ll hear what Liverpool wants and, because he likes the club very much and is enjoying his role there, I suspect he’ll think about extending his stay if they tell him they need him longer. At the moment, it’s really open and his contract is ending in June, so he’s not currently set to help the club with their summer window dealings. With that in mind, it’s important they talk early, as they can’t start talks on July 1st ahead of the new season.
Some news that fans of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen will find interesting – Bayern legend Lothar Matthaus was discussing which players from the Bundesliga would make it into a first 15 at Bayern Munich. Leverkusen had the most with six (Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong, Victor Boniface, Alex Grimaldo, Exequiel Palacios and Florian Wirtz). RB Leipzig had two picks (Xavi Simons and Lois Openda). Look away Dortmund fans – Matthaus said not a single Dortmund player could feature in Munich’s first 15.
It wasn’t Timo Werner’s idea to go back to the Premier League again, as I’ve mentioned previously! He didn’t have the best time there. He started well under Frank Lampard and then things went downhill under Tuchel. He decided to do it again in the Bundesliga to regain his self-confidence, but Leipzig made it very clear his chances to play are not very good. I think these talks changed his mind, plus there were not big offers within the Bundesliga because of his recent performances. His salary, whilst not significant in Premier League terms, is an obstacle for other Bundesliga Clubs; only Dortmund and Bayern can pay what he’s earning at Leipzig easily, so he’s simply not a topic for the other clubs.
Ultimately, it’s a bit of a surprise that he’s returning to England, but it shows that he wasn’t desperate! It has to be said that Tottenham’s style of play will be well-suited to Werner. He’s not afraid of the challenge at the club or the league. His personality is very much like that.
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