Welcome to today’s exclusive & comprehensive round-up of all things Bayern Munich from Bayern insider Christian Falk. Featuring updates on Michael Olise, Nick Woltemade, Victor Osimhen and Givairo Read.
Today’s top stories
- Are Bayern worried about Michael Olise’s contract situation?
- Have Bayern been given a price tag for Nick Woltemade?
- Could Victor Osimhen be Bayern’s next big signing?
- And plenty more on Kennet Eichhorn, Manuel Neuer, Konrad Laimer & Ademola Lookman.
Anything is possible this season for Bayern Munich. Everyone is again thinking about winning the treble. They don’t talk about it, of course! The only one who mentioned it was Joshua Kimmich. The bosses have said, “No, we’re not even champions yet.” Indeed, the match against Dortmund was a really good Klassiker. Still, FC Bayern now find themselves 11 points ahead of BVB, and Kimmich was the first to hop on the title talk train and say, “Yeah, that’s a title.” If you have this title and Bayern are already in the semi-final of the DFB Pokal, and the last 16 of the Champions League, you can understand why everyone in Munich is dreaming about the treble.
Manuel Neuer to be offered a contract
✅ It is TRUE: Bayern Munich want to offer Manuel Neuer a one-year contract extension after his birthday. The supervisory board already talked about this. The question is only how much money they should give the goalkeeper. He was injured, and at the end of March, he’ll turn 40. Neuer’s also still one of the top earners at the club. So, the bosses are talking about whether he stays on his current salary or has to be given less money. At the moment, everyone is saying they’ll give him a new contract if he wants it. In the club, they’re not sure if Manuel Neuer wants another season. Ultimately, if we’re talking about the treble, he could end his playing career on a high – and what an end that would be! Neuer’s already made it clear that he’s not going to have any involvement in the upcoming World Cup. I heard from the club that he’s gauging his body, and he’s in two minds about whether it’s the best decision to have another year at the club. He knows he’s still at the right level to compete; he loves football, and he wants to play. That’s why it’s such a difficult decision for the shotstopper. One of the people at the club told me he’s not a man who wears his heart on his sleeve; he’s always keeping secrets, and no one quite knows what he’s thinking.
Givairo Read is still a target for Bayern Munich
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Givairo Read has become too expensive a potential signing for Bayern Munich. Bayern feel they can sign the player if they want to. Of course, you never know which clubs will rear their heads from the Premier League and offer, from a German perspective, some crazy prices. So Bayern Munich won’t pay, say, €60m [£52.1m] for a right-back. They think they can get him for €30m [£26m] with add-ons – that’s absolutely a discussion the club is happy to have. But this is the range Bayern Munich would like to pay, and it matches the right-back’s market price. Of course, the market can have other ideas, and the Premier League can also influence the asking price! But for the time being, Bayern have a very good feeling that they can sign Read this summer.
Could Daniel Banjaqui be an alternative option?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Benfica’s Daniel Banjaqui has been identified as an alternative if Bayern can’t sign Givairo Read. I spoke with the club about this rumour. Bayern are aware of Banjaqui, and they think he’s a good player. But no, he’s 17 years old and not an option at the moment. Perhaps he will develop, but for the profile Bayern are looking for, he’s not the right choice at this time.
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Do Liverpool want to sign Konrad Laimer?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Liverpool are concretely interested in Konrad Laimer. Many clubs see that he’s been very strong as a backup right-back and has actually been one of the best right-backs in Europe at the moment. He’s a midfielder by trade, of course. Everyone can see there have been problems in contract negotiations with Bayern. I heard there has only been one meeting in this regard, which took place at the end of the last season. Bayern Munich made an offer, and it was better than the contract he has now. Though not quite as good as Laimer was hoping! He was a free agent when he came in from Leipzig, and he expected more money. He sees that Michael Olise is earning a lot of money, not to mention Dayot Upamecano has also been handed a sizeable contract. The German thought, considering he’s been playing so frequently and at a high standard, he would get in the range, not of the top earners like Harry Kane, but perhaps the second tier earning around the €15m (£13m) a year mark. But the offer from Bayern was far from this, so he was a little disappointed. I heard his agent, Andreas Sadlo, from ROOF – there are many agents – and Andreas Ottl (a former Bayern player) were at the meeting. They said, “We don’t have to talk about the salary now because this offer is not what we were expecting.” So, they’re just going to let time pass and wait, not too dissimilarly to Dayot Upamecano’s situation.
Arsenal and Leon Goretzka – a match made in heaven?
✅ It is TRUE: Arsenal are currently leading the race for Leon Goretzka. This is indeed true from Goretzka’s point of view. The Gunners didn’t make an offer in January, but they did signal that they were aware of the fact that Goretzka was considering a move away from Bayern. There were very concrete talks with Atletico Madrid – their sporting director was in Munich. The player’s goal is to move to the Premier League; he would love to play for Arsenal. Of course, he can’t guarantee that Arsenal will come back again in the summer with a concrete offer. In his heart, he feels this would be a perfect next club.
I heard he loves the Premier League and his playing style suits English football. However, he’s not focused on one club and only one club this summer. If Arsenal are there, he’d be more than happy to sit at the table and listen to offers. Tottenham are also interested, and that could be an option, but Spurs are not as attractive an option as Arsenal right now. Arsenal are playing very well at the moment, and they’re in the Champions League. For Leon Goretzka, it would be a great thing to win the Champions League with another club. So, we have to wait and see if Arsenal make an offer!
Kennet Eichhorn attracting Premier League clubs
✅ It is TRUE: Bayern have communicated their concrete interest in Kennet Eichhorn to his advisors. He’s one of the biggest talents in Germany – and at only 16 years of age! This is quite something that such a young player can already be so helpful in his team. He’s so good, in fact, that Bayern are determined not to lose him to a rival (domestic or otherwise). Other clubs are, of course, focusing on him; Arsenal, Manchester United and some other Premier League clubs are among them. But there are also several Bundesliga clubs keeping an eye on Eichhorn’s situation. He has a release clause, which makes a summer move more than possible. Bayern Munich are thinking that if he makes a move to the Bundesliga, there’s always a chance for the Bavarians to get the player eventually. But if the talent gets lost to the Premier League, it then becomes a lot harder to get him back to Germany.
Eichhorn is at the same agency as Jamal Musiala. They’re always in talks with his agency. It’s not an offer, but Bayern have made it plainly clear that if Kennet Eichhorn fancies a move in the summer, they’re ready and waiting to make something happen. They want to be given advance notice if he wants to leave Hertha Berlin. They want the player – they don’t want to lose him. Bayern Munich are concretely interested. However, should he wish to spend another year in Berlin tending to his development, that would be okay for Bayern. But it would be unacceptable to lose him to the Premier League.
He’s a player that Pep Guardiola at Manchester City would also love to have and develop. But these clubs also need players who are further along in their development, like Felix Nmecha. I heard that Nmecha is really concrete as far as a move to Man City is concerned. Dortmund want to give the 25-year-old a new contract, but Manchester City are now in talks. If they can sign this player, then how do they also fit Eichhorn into the squad? So, you see, it’s difficult, and both are really interesting players.
Victor Osimhen to move to the Bundesliga?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Bayern are considering signing Victor Osimhen. That’s already been confirmed by the club bosses. They know about these rumours, and it has something to do with the fact that Osimhen’s contract has a release clause included, which is available to be activated by several top clubs, including Bayern Munich. However, FC Bayern feel a little used here. Perhaps it’s the agents stirring the pot, but there is actually no interest from the reigning Bundesliga champions. Also, the last article I read claimed that Vincent Kompany had submitted a personal request to the Bayern bosses for the club to sign Osimhen as a successor to Harry Kane. But this is exactly the kind of situation Bayern Munich do not want to see come to pass! They want to extend Kane’s contract. They’re not interested in rumours suggesting they’ve already settled on a successor. They don’t need that at the moment. And they don’t need Victor Osimhen.
Newcastle open the door for Bayern and Nick Woltemade?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Newcastle have set Nick Woltemade’s price tag at £69m [€79.3m] for Bayern Munich. It might be true that if the Magpies were prepared to sell the striker, they would like to recoup the money they handed over to VfB Stuttgart in the summer. However, they’ve not set a concrete price tag. Newcastle don’t want to put the player up for sale at the moment. Not even Woltemade wants to make a move now. If he were to do so now, it would give off the impression that he hasn’t “made it” at Newcastle. He wants to prove that he’s better and is good enough for Newcastle.
The next step would then be to move to a Premier League club that is playing a little higher in the Premier League, or, perhaps, going back to the Bundesliga in the distant future. He does have Bayern Munich in his mind, but in the meantime, he wants to improve his performances in the north east of England and get more minutes. That’s ultimately because he wants to play in the World Cup with Germany. If he’s to achieve that goal, the 24-year-old has to play frequently at Newcastle. He would otherwise have to go and push for a transfer with the Newcastle bosses, which he’s yet to do! That’s why Newcastle don’t want to sell him.
Could Ademola Lookman have played for Bayern?
✅ It is TRUE: Atalanta thwarted Bayern’s attempt to sign Ademola Lookman. This is very interesting because Bayern are now set to take on Atalanta in the Champions League! Bayern Munich were in contact with Lookman and his agency (ROOF) in the summer. There were talks about a transfer, and Bayern, the agency and the player had an agreement for a move. In the end, however, it was Atalanta who put their foot down and refused to give the forward up right at the end of the transfer window. By this point, Bayern were in such a hurry to boost their forward line, which is why they made a loan deal for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson. This was also the problem with Lookman, as Bayern wanted a loan. Atalanta would have perhaps sold him, but not on a loan deal. In the end, they sold the footballer to Atletico Madrid in February. So, he won’t be on the pitch when Bayern are playing Atalanta, and this is, of course, a good thing. The bad news is that they couldn’t sign the striker in the summer. Not to mention the fact that the loan deal for Jackson just hasn’t worked out.
Michael Olise, Liverpool and a Bayern Munich contract
Michael Olise is currently on a contract running until 2029, and Bayern Munich would love to have him sign a new contract until 2031. But this all takes time. With three years left on Olise’s current terms, Bayern have time on their hands. But, of course, they also heard that Liverpool are interested and Manchester City is watching the player. But they also have the Konrad Laimer contract negotiations to think about, the Harry Kane negotiations… It’s a complicated situation. What if you sign one player until 2031 and then the others say, “Hey, I want a longer contract”? It’s a bit of a dangerous game; the longer you wait, the more it invites other clubs to pick up the phone and call the player. Michael Olise isn’t, at the moment, one of the top earners (picking up around €15m [£13m]. Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane perhaps earn about €10m more. Bayern can always give the right winger more money, but the longer they wait, the more complicated the situation becomes. Bayern don’t want another “Upamecano case”. Nobody wants that!
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