Bayern Munich find themselves in hot water once again in the goalkeeping department.
Manuel Neuer has left the recruitment department with a fresh dilemma after suffering a broken rib during the Bavarian giants’ 1-0 DFB Pokal defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last Tuesday.
Liverpool superstar is now ‘CRAZY’ about leaving the club!
Manager Vincent Kompany confirmed the 38-year-old goalkeeper was unlikely to feature again for the club ahead of the new year (via fcbayern.com): “He’s broken his rib. He probably won’t play again this year. The important thing is it now heals. Then hopefully we’ll have Manu back in January.”
The former Germany international picked up the injury after a collision with Liverpool-linked Jeremie Frimpong.
Backup shotstopper Daniel Peretz (24) stepped in between the sticks for Bayern’s 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. The Israeli is now set to remain in place for upcoming Bundesliga meetings with FSV Mainz and RB Leipzig.
One could forgive Loris Karius’ eyes for enlarging to epic proportions if he caught reports suggesting a potential return to the German top-flight was on the cards – and to 32-time Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich no less!
BILD (via bulinews.com) claimed that the 31-year-old (last seen with Newcastle United in the 2023/24 campaign) was a potential candidate to bolster Die Roten’s goalkeeping options.
However, reliable insider Christian Falk has now informed CaughtOffside, in his exclusive Fact Files column, that Bayern won’t be looking to sign a goalkeeper in January: “The situation at Bayern is a little complicated. Manuel Neuer is injured (broken rib) at the moment. So, there are big discussions as to what they’ll do.
“Now, they’ve decided they won’t go for a new goalkeeper in January – which is bad news for former Liverpool goalkeeper Karius, who was previously linked. He’s out.”
Bad news for Karius indeed. Though the former Mainz goalkeeper enjoyed a semi-productive spell in the north east of England, he hasn’t quite fully shaken off the spectre of Liverpool’s 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
On Bayern’s end of the equation, the club’s recruitment team have set their sights on finding a more long-term solution to their goalkeeping conundrum.
To that end, Brighton and Hove Albion’s No.1, Bart Verbruggen, has caught the eye of decision-makers at Säbener Straße.
“Bayern want to arrange a loan during the summer transfer window in order to ensure he’s getting first-team minutes,” the head of football at the BILD Group noted.
“With that in mind, they’ll need a new backup ‘keeper for Neuer. Which is why they’ve had a look at Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen who’s very highly rated on the shortlist.”
Falk went on to add: “Now Bayern have decided they need a good goalkeeper behind Neuer because of his injury. Perhaps they need one who can also become a No.1.
“Manuel Neuer will sign a new contract until 2026 (but this isn’t official yet), so they want a goalkeeper on a good level, if he has to play, as Neuer is getting older. Don’t think of it as a No.2 goalkeeper but a No.1(a).”
At 22 years of age, the Dutchman most certainly ticks the box for the long term.
Even more intriguingly, stats provider FBref consider the footballer’s profile to be statistically similar to Neuer (second behind on-loan Bayern star Alexander Nubel).
Bayern may wish to move quickly in this arena, however, given that Verbruggen has already attracted some reported interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid.
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