Welcome to today’s exclusive & comprehensive round-up of all things Bayern Munich from Bayern insider Christian Falk. Featuring updates on Luis Henrique, Jonathan Burkardt, Malick Thiaw and more.
Today’s top stories
- Are Bayern prioritising Luis Henrique or Jamie Gittens?
- Bayern have their eye on several potential back-up options for Harry Kane…
- Alarm bells for Max Eberl?
- And further updates on Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané, Joao Palhinha and more!
Champions League Review
Italian teams are always very clever. It’s getting very hard for Bayern Munich, but you already saw that the first leg was very close. Bayern were not the lesser side, but they were less clever! If Harry Kane had scored his goal at the beginning (after Michael Olise’s brilliant dribble), we would have a completely different situation. There are so many players missing at the moment; Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musial, Dayot Upamecano, Manuel Neuer. They are all key players for Bayern Munich, so this is a real problem! But in the end, it’s Bayern Munich.
Everyone was so focused on the Madrid Arsenal game that Harry Kane got away with this miss pic.twitter.com/MLghdWI1hM
— Momito👑 (@ftblmenace) April 9, 2025
Another big talking point coming out of the game on Tuesday was Vincent Kompany committing to a “Pep Guardiola move”, which isn’t always clever. He started Raphaël Guerreiro in the No.10 position (where Musiala normally plays), but left Thomas Müller out. You saw what happened when Müller came on in the 74th minute – he scored! And he had two more chances. I think the tactical plan wasn’t Kompany’s best. Now he has to take a serious look at his squad, as many coaches get in trouble when they make bad Müller decisions! If Vincent Kompany is clever, he’ll let Thomas Müller start in the return leg.
Now everyone’s talking about the Miracle of Milan in 1988, when Bayern successfully overturned a 2-0 deficit (from the first leg in Munich) with a historic 3-1 win at the San Siro to progress in the UEFA Cup (on away goals). Notably against a team with two ex-Bayern stars in Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme.
“Live scouting”: The future of Bayern transfers
“Live scouting” is a big topic at the moment in the club. The advantage of this method is you see a lot more around a potential target; you look into their behaviour, their aggression, and what they’re doing off the field, or when they don’t have the ball, and so on. So, this is the idea: To see who is a “Bayern player” and who is not. However, the disadvantage of this approach is that you can’t see so many players; if you’re always travelling, you can’t watch as many players as you might on video.
You saw that in the match between PSG and Marseille, Vincent Kompany and Christoph Freund were in attendance to watch Luis Henrique. So, you see when a player gets really interesting, then the boss is also at the stadium to take a closer look. That’s a perfect example of the idea in action.
Luis Henrique vs Jamie Gittens
Bayern Munich are in talks with Luis Henrique. In fact, the Brazilian winger holds an advantage over another Bayern-linked star in Jamie Gittens, with the club firmly focused on Henrique. Gittens, by contrast, is off the shortlist. That said, the chances of the Englishman being sold this summer are only getting bigger whilst Borussia Dortmund remain out of the Champions League spots. We’ve always talked about a price tag of €100m, but inside the club, they believe now – because his performances haven’t been so good in recent weeks – he’ll be fine to leave if they get about €60m.
It’s clearly not what Marseille wants but, at the moment, Luis Henrique’s price on the market is around €25m – so he’s cheaper! The idea is to find the next Michael Olise. The Bayern Munich scouts in their report mentioned that Henrique’s the best player in Ligue 1 in his position. I think that means a lot when you play in a league where Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia share the same position. Doué, of course, was on the list of Bayern last year, and they didn’t get him. So the next idea is Henrique. Bayern do see Jamie Gittens’ high potential, but they’re aware he doesn’t show it in every match. They’re searching for a player that does offer this. A few of the scouts believe Luis Henrique is just more consistent by comparison.
Tom Bischoff: The next German international
Bayern rate Tom Bischoff highly – they feel he could be the next German national player. That’s always the idea at Bayern Munich to get the German players in the national team, and you have to always get them a bit earlier now. Before, Bayern would get them at their peak and could pay the price for a Bundesliga player, but now the market is so big and international that they have to buy them earlier in order to compete with European rivals. Bischoff is still considered the potential successor of Leon Goretzka, but the problem is that Goretzka still has a contract until 2026. We heard that he wants to stay in the next season, which could be a problem for Bayern, as it may mean they’ll have too many players in the midfield. So, it’s always a problem for young players.
Leon Goretzka had such a hard start to the season that the coach and the sporting director told him it would be very difficult for him in 2024/25. But at the end, Goretzka is playing again, and for a young player, it’s getting difficult if you’ve got such a rival to compete with. However, Bayern didn’t just bring in Bischoff because they believe he can make it at Bayern, they also brought him in because he was a free agent. Even if he only spends one year in Bayern Munich’s squad, he’ll become more valuable than he was before. So, if it works out, it’s good! If not, they can sell him for a bigger amount.
Kingsley Coman’s future
Kingsley Coman is still the No.1 player up for sale this summer. I heard that Arsenal and Liverpool are concretely interested in the Frenchman, but that the Gunners aren’t quite as interested as their Premier League rivals. Liverpool have Coman on their shortlist, but it hasn’t developed to the point of there being offers or negotiations. They are looking at his situation closely.
Harry Kane back-up signing
Bayern have to wait until Tottenham make a decision about Mathys Tel. They hope that Spurs will go for the buy option worth €60m. You have to see also the very big loan fee (up to €10m), but they can take this away from the end price if they sign Tel on a permanent deal. Bayern will get €10m either way provided that he fulfils his targets on loan.
There is a shortlist of potential options to act as back-up to Harry Kane. Benjamin Sesko is on the list, Viktor Gyokeres also, and they have their eye on Moise Kean (Fiorentina) and Jonathan Burkardt (Mainz). Burkardt has a release clause in his contract, so he’s not so expensive. He’s doing really well at Mainz, but Bayern are aware of the injury issues. There’s a big discussion ongoing with Tim Kleindienst in terms of whether it’s time for him to move to a bigger club, but Julian Naglesmann, the Bundestrainer, advised him to stay put at Gladbach, or go to a team where he’ll get regular playing time, if he wants to be with the national team. Going to Bayern means going to a team where he won’t get many minutes whilst Harry Kane is with the side. It’s also worth noting that Frankfurt are very close to getting Burkardt, whilst Sesko prefers a move to the Premier League, thanks to Kane’s presence in Munich.
Defensive signings?
There’s a little hope that Dayot Upamecano could be back from injury before the end of the season, but it’s not a big hope. Hiroki Ito is out for the season, as he suffered a metatarsal fracture in his right foot for the third time. Bayern Munich are searching for options, but the first idea is to look at their own available players. One idea is Adam Aznou (18) who’s currently on loan at Real Valladolid; he could be a back-up for Alphonso Davies. They want to bring him back to Bayern. The interesting thing is that Barcelona are also interested in Aznou, and it’s worth pointing out that the fullback is from Barcelona, was part of their youth setup and is a friend of Lamine Yamal’s. Bayern are, at the moment, not open for talks to give him away. They want to have him for their own squad. Ito and Josip Stanisic should be back-up options for Kim Min-jae and Upamecano.
With the Upamecano situation, there are still negotiations ongoing for a new contract, but Bayern are still having a look at other players because they’ve seen what’s happened to the club’s defence this season. They’re looking at players like Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen. But it’ll be hard to get the Spanish international, as he’s on the lists of many Premier League clubs, and then there’s the €60m release clause, which is too high for Bayern Munich at the moment. Further back, Bayern always had a spare €100m or €200m – but in more recent times the bank balance is nearly empty! You have to look back at transfers like Harry Kane (€100m), Sacha Boey (€30m), and Joao Palhinha (€51m). All a lot of money spent – and some transfers were more successful than others!
What next for Thomas Müller?
I heard something very interesting about Thomas Müller: Mid-table Premier League clubs are interested in signing him for two years. I don’t think he’ll go to England, and he still has to make a decision in the next few weeks in terms of whether he’ll end his career at Bayern or make a final move (and the first of his career). MLS clubs are concretely interested; there’s a partner club of Bayern Munich, Los Angeles FC, which Bayern would love Müller to join. Plus, he’s already had offers from FC Cincinnati, San Diego FC, and also FC Dallas have an eye on him.
Daniel Peretz: Future Bayern No.1?
I think both sides, Bayern and Daniel Peretz, are in agreement that he needs to head out on loan in the summer to get more experience and show his qualities. They now have Jonas Urbig and it’s the first time since Manuel Neuer joined the club that the veteran agreed another goalkeeper should get playing time! Urbig will get match minutes; there’s an agreement between the player and the club that the 21-year-old will get playing time next season. This is in order to see if Urbig can be a genuine successor to Neuer. He’s already done really well against Inter Milan, in Glasgow and in Bundesliga matches. We can’t forget about Alexander Nübel, who is on loan at Stuttgart, and still under contract with Bayern Munich. He’s set to return to Bayern in 2026, when Neuer is expected to end his career in Bavaria. In the meantime, Bayern want to see how each of their backup keepers gets on; how Nübel fares in Stuttgart and how Peretz fares at a new club. Then they’ll make a decision on who will be the “next” Manuel Neuer.
Are Bayern interested in Malick Thiaw?
Vincent Kompany was at the Coppa Italia game between Inter Milan and AC Milan. We heard that he wanted to watch Inter. Malick Thiaw is on the list of Leverkusen; it’s more concrete that he’ll be a successor to Jonathan Tah, whilst Bayern Munich aren’t quite concrete yet. Leverkusen are in a leading position for the German defender.
Max Eberl still in danger?
Max Eberl doesn’t need to be just worried about Markus Krösche. There are always rumours around Ralf Rangnick and Mario Gomez (technical director at Red Bull). It goes without saying that if you’re at Bayern Munich – you’re always under pressure! Also, Eberl has to show that he’s good enough for this position. When there are so many rumours around, it’s never good news for a sporting director. In the end, it always depends on success. If Bayern Munich doesn’t win the Bundesliga, any sporting director would be in immediate trouble. At the end of the season, the bosses will judge the season, and the Champions League will play a role in that, so we have to see how Bayern behaves in the second leg against Inter. Don’t forget that in 2023, the club fired Hasan Salihamidžić and Oliver Kahn. So even if Bayern do win the championship, Max Eberl shouldn’t feel too safe.
Leroy Sané & contract talks
Negotiations are ongoing. Bayern, of course, don’t want to pay Leroy Sané as much as he was earning before. He’s currently earning €15m plus €5m in bonuses. If he signs a new contract with Bayern Munich, he will earn a lot less! The club and Sané’s agent are negotiating a three-year contract until 2028. One-third will be paid variable with a lower base salary. The talk is of €9m plus €6m in bonuses or €10m plus €5m in bonuses. That’s really interesting because at this point he’s not so focused on money. Sané likes to play with Jamal Musiala who is one of his biggest friends at Bayern. So, it’s indeed possible that he could sign a contract with the club for less money. There were rumours around Arsenal and Liverpool, they had their eyes on him, but it didn’t get so concrete. So, at the moment, I think his future is at Bayern Munich.
