Welcome to today’s exclusive & comprehensive round-up of all things Bayern Munich from Bayern insider Christian Falk. Featuring updates on Nick Woltemade, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Lennart Karl, and Christopher Nkunku.
Today’s top stories
- Why Bayern Munich could now move for Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku…
- The latest on Bayern’s Nick Woltemade pursuit…
- Bayern youngster demands more minutes this season!
- Is Gianluigi Donnarumma on Bayern’s radar?
Bayern won their third and final pre-season match, beating Grasshoppers Zurich 2–1. There were many discussions in the club that Vincent Kompany didn’t give the young players enough playing time at the Club World Cup and during the last season. Against Grasshoppers, he did! In the starting XI there were Lennart Karl, David Santos, Magnus Dalpiaz, Felipe Chavez and Jonah Kusi-Asare, while the stars around them, in Harry Kane, Luis Diaz & Co., started on the bench. It worked! The 17-year-old Lennart Karl was once again impressive. Karl scored a dream goal to make the 1-0. From 25 metres out, he smashed the ball into the corner. Karl also set up the second goal. He sent striker Kusi-Asare (also a big talent who scored already against Tottenham) with a through ball to make the second goal for Bayern. Karl had already scored in the 4-0 win against Tottenham. He also showed his talent in the 2-1 win against Lyon, even starting the game. The other newcomer, Tom Bischof, who came from Hoffenheim, also had a good performance. He was active, courageous, and always involved in the offence.
Thomas Müller heads to Vancouver
I am, at the moment, in Canada to watch the first match of Thomas Müller with his new team Vancouver Whitecaps. I was even with Müller on the flight. He said that he’s not a typical movie watcher – he will watch videos of horses instead! Very typical of Müller. He also advised me to wear thrombosis socks. He also did. Vancouver are crazy about their new star. His jersey is already sold out. For his foundation, he is selling his first signed one. The first Müller jersey of the Vancouver Whitecaps, which the 2014 World Cup winner held in his hands when he signed his contract, already costs over €10,000 in his auction. On Sunday, Müller will play his first match for Vancouver against Houston.
Complete bedlam at WhiteSpot as Thomas Muller joins Whitecaps watch party pic.twitter.com/h8rOCW3hln
— JAY JANOWER (@JayJanower) August 14, 2025
Lennart Karl surprises in pre-season
Lennart Karl is the big surprise in Bayern’s pre-season. Now the talent wants more! Before the match against Zurich, Bayern gave him a new contract til 2028. After the game, Karl demanded more playing time. He said that he wants to play in the Super Cup against Stuttgart. “He’s really on the right track. Of course, it’s great when he’s so clinical in front of goal in games. We see that time and time again in training, so we’re excited to see what this season has in store for him”, said sporting director Christoph Freund. The man behind Lennart Karl’s career is Michael Ballack. The former Chelsea player is his agent.
Kingsley Coman nears Al-Nassr move
Kingsley Coman is on the verge of a transfer from FC Bayern to Saudi club Al-Nassr. The star winger was absent from the German record champions’ 2-1 friendly win against Grasshopper Zurich. Official explanation from the club: He was ill. It’s more likely that Coman did not stay home due to illness, but rather to avoid jeopardising the deal with Al-Nassr. Negotiations are currently about the exact transfer fee. Al-Nassr offered around €30m including add-ons. Bayern would like more. For example: Liverpool received €53m for Darwin Nunez. Bayern demanded €35m from Al-Nassr. The contract for Nkunku in the Saudi Pro League will run until the summer of 2028, with a salary of over €20m net. Coman’s departure, coupled with the latest development in the Woltemade saga, should see Christopher Nkunku return to the Bayern list!
Are Bayern Munich happy with their squad depth?
FC Bayern had a clear idea of its new offensive line-up. The club is convinced that with Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, and now Luis Diaz, it has one of the most dangerous attacking lines in Europe. Statistically speaking, they are not wrong. Only FC Barcelona’s offensive quartet of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Dani Olmo has better scoring statistics. Bayern is even ahead of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Max Eberl had help from a Liverpool insider when signing Luis Diaz. He called his friend Jörg Schmadtke, who was Liverpool’s sporting director in 2023. Schmadtke advised him to buy Diaz and gave him tips. Interesting: Bayern dropped out of the poker game for Nico Williams because the agent demanded a net fee of €10m for Williams in order to even sit down at the negotiating table. Bayern refused. They also wanted to know how Williams felt about the move from a sporting perspective. Bayern have lost three players in attack with Müller, Leroy Sané and now Coman. At least one more must therefore come in.
Nick Woltemade transfer looks off
Nick Woltemade’s transfer to FC Bayern is as good as off! That’s the result of a video call on Wednesday afternoon. Three Bayern and three Stuttgart bosses took part in the 20-minute Teams meeting. The Munich club tried to convince Stuttgart with a new transfer fee model. Two key points in this model: 1. Bayern would pay around €55m for the German national striker. 2. Woltemade’s side would also waive the commission of allegedly 10% of the transfer fee that VfB would have had to pay them in the event of a transfer. However, Stuttgart demanded a total package that would have exceeded around €75m. This was too much for Munich, who subsequently withdrew. It now seems unlikely that the deal will go ahead.
FC Bayern wanted to use the money they will get from the transfer of Kingsley Coman to be more flexible in the negotiations for Nick Woltemade. The negotiations were already difficult before the video call. On Monday evening, the CEO of VfB, Alexander Wehrle, set a deadline for Bayern for the transfer of Woltemade. He let Bayern know, if they really want to sign the player, they have to be able to reach a solution before the Super Cup match this Saturday. Everything should be sorted out by kick-off at the latest, otherwise a deal would be over. After this deadline, Woltemade would have to stay at Stuttgart for this season. Now t seems that this will happen.
Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku is a topic again at FC Bayern
Christopher Nkunku is now a topic again at FC Bayern, especially after the new situation with Woltemade. Max Eberl already tried to get Nkunku in the winter. But at this time, Chelsea wanted a transfer fee of €70m. This was too high for FC Bayern. Now there is a chance to get the player for half of this price. Nkunku would be a good investment, because he can play many roles. Even as a backup for the injured Jamal Musiala. Bayern already made contact with his agent, Pini Zahavi.
It is NOT TRUE that Bayern were interested in Rasmus Hojlund or Nicolas Jackson this summer. The plan is to play with Harry Kane in the striker position, with Luis Diaz pre-planned as Kane’s backup.
Bayern do not have Gianluigi Donnarumma on their list
It is NOT TRUE that Bayern have Gianluigi Donnarumma on their list: Bayern have given a new contract to Manuel Neuer for this season, because he is still the number one. Another year is not ruled out if Neuer’s performance is still world-class. But after Neuer, the plan is to give Jonas Urbig a chance to be the number one. But also, Alexander Nübel (on loan at Stuttgart) and Daniel Peretz (on loan at Hamburg) want to compete for the number one spot at Bayern.
Kim Min-jae is back fit
He’s finally fit again! Min-jae Kim suffered from Achilles tendon problems for months and ultimately stopped playing altogether. He was in the squad for the Club World Cup but didn’t play a single minute. Now the South Korean is back and has played his first minutes in recent test matches. However, he has not really been able to convince. Especially in Zurich, he had a few wobbles in his game. He actually wanted to use this time to put himself back in the shop window. This would allow him to prove himself at Bayern or possibly make himself interesting for a new club. So far, it hasn’t worked out.
→ READ MORE: The Bayern Insider: Alexander Isak to Liverpool just got easier
→ READ MORE: Christian Falk’s Fact Files – Harry Kane back to Premier League?
