Welcome to today’s exclusive & comprehensive round-up of all things Bayern Munich from Bayern insider Christian Falk. Featuring updates on Florian Wirtz, Aleksandar Pavlović, Michael Olise, and Paul Wanner.
Today’s top stories
- Could Florian Wirtz swap Liverpool for Bayern Munich?
- Are Harry Kane’s contract talks running smoothly?
- Is there room for Paul Wanner to return to FC Bayern?
- And plenty more on Manuel Neuer, Harry Kane, Min-jae Kim & Sacha Boey
It was a hard-fought victory against Elversberg that saw Bayern get back to winning ways in the Bundesliga. They’ve been the surprise of the 2026/27 season so far, winning their first two league games against Bayer Leverkusen and Gladbach before facing FC Bayern. But now, the points are running for Bayern Munich once more. It was a tough match, but it’s also always going to be hard for the other team if you’re up against Harry Kane and if you can bring players onto the pitch like Jamal Musiala and Luis Diaz. So, in the end, it was deserved for the visitors, but it was hard work.
Is there a world in which Florian Wirtz could end up at Bayern?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Bayern Munich are tracking Florian Wirtz and could make a shock move for the Liverpool player. My information is that this is not true. Of course, there is a big history between FC Bayern and Wirtz. There were two secret meetings before he decided on Liverpool: the first one in Munich and then in Liverpool as well. At the time, Arne Slot persuaded the German international to switch to Merseyside. If there is such a connection, you’re always going to have rumours – even more so when there are concerns over his performance levels in England. To be clear, I don’t necessarily share those concerns; I think Wirtz is performing better than he did last year. He has a new position in the team. On the other hand, you have an ongoing topic with Jamal Musiala, where he’s not in his best possible shape at the moment due to his illness following his injury struggles last year.
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So, you can see where some reports have taken these conditions and claimed that one plus one equals two. Of course, if Florian Wirtz were, at some point in future, interested in making a return to the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich would be the first team he’d talk to. However, there is nothing planned. Bayern have a big squad and everyone’s feeling really confident. Musiala has a long contract and don’t forget that Vincent Kompany is trying a new system with Michael Olise as the fulcrum in the centre – the same position he currently plays in for the French national team. So, FC Bayern have a lot of options. Don’t forget, either, that it was a lot of money Liverpool paid for Wirtz.
Could a Michael Olise for Florian Wirtz swap be on the cards?
There are not so many players in this range in terms of money and position. A big target for Bayern Munich is, as fans will be aware, to have as many Germans on the pitch as they can possibly manage – what we call the FC Bayern Deutschland. This is a big dream of Uli Hoeneß, the godfather of Bayern Munich, and his successors have also tried to make this dream come true. So, everyone at Bayern hopes that Michael Olise will play for the club for a long, long time. However, Max Eberl also told me in an interview that he wants a sign from the Frenchman next summer in terms of whether or not he can imagine signing a new contract. That’s because they can’t lose Olise on a free transfer in 2029. If you wait too long and then there’s a year left on the contract, you can forgive players for thinking about running down the contract when there’s a lot of money lying on the table if they agree a deal out of contract. So, you have to make a decision next summer.
Everyone is hoping the former Crystal Palace star signs a new contract, but if not, and he decides for a transfer, of course Florian Wirtz would be a player who’s interesting for Bayern Munich. The German can play on the side or centrally. This would be a very interesting thing, and if you make a swap deal with Liverpool or sell Olise for a lot of money to Real Madrid, you have the money to make an offer for Wirtz. So, there are many, many positions which have to be discussed. I wouldn’t say it’s not true that Bayern Munich would have thought of that.
Second round of talks with Harry Kane
✅ It is TRUE: The second round of contract negotiations with Harry Kane have begun. The talks have been going on since the weekend. At Elversberg, it’s a really small stadium; they’re rebuilding, which is why there are fewer than 10,000 fans in the stands. So, you can spot any prominent faces in the crowd, and in this case, Pat and Charlie Kane were seen in the stadium. But it wasn’t just a family trip. They’re in Germany at the moment to discuss with Bayern bosses whether there’ll be a new contract for Harry Kane. Both sides are really optimistic that he’ll sign a new deal. It’s clear that it won’t be fewer than two years – minimum to 2029. But Harry Kane could imagine signing a longer deal.
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He wants to play the Euros in 2028 and also has an eye on the World Cup in 2030. Then you have to think about how much money he’ll earn. If it’s two years, I think it’ll be the same salary as he has now. It’s said to be around €25m [£21.3m] a year. Perhaps if it’s a longer contract, they’ll have to discuss whether it needs to be a little less. There are other ideas, like whether there needs to be a release clause, as Kane had in his old contract (where he had until January to trigger it). However, he never ended up activating this, as he’s feeling so happy in Munich.
It’s just not true that he’s discussing any options with other clubs; not with Real Madrid, not with English clubs and also not with Saudi Arabia. In the summer, there were rumours of talks with the Saudi Pro League, but there were no such talks that took place with Harry Kane or his family. He wants to win the Champions League with FC Bayern.
Bayern can pump money into a big transfer (if they want to)
Bayern Munich has the power to make a big signing happen. If you look at this summer, there was a clear idea – they didn’t want to spend more than €50m [£42.7m]. When you see what they paid for Ismael Saibari and Nathaniel Brown, and what they got for the players they sold, we’re talking about €30m [£25.6m] or so that FC Bayern have spent. But on the other hand, if Bayern have an idea of a player, as they did for Florian Wirtz, it’s no problem to spend €100m [£85.5m] on a player they’re wholeheartedly committed to. The German chose Liverpool, but Bayern would still have been prepared to put the cash on the table, as they were super convinced about the player. If there’s such a player on the market, and they find themselves in need in this position, or he’s a German and they don’t want to lose him to the Premier League, they can pull the trigger any time. Which is what they did when they signed Harry Kane from Tottenham. So, Bayern Munich have the power to make deals like this happen, but it’s not normal to spend massive amounts year after year as other clubs do.
Liverpool to make their move for ex-Bayern star Paul Wanner
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Bayern Munich are extremely keen on bringing Paul Wanner back to Munich. FC Bayern gave him away, so they always have the chance to get him back, but they’re currently okay in this position. There is interest from some clubs around, like Liverpool, there have always been talks. But he’s a young player (at 20 years of age), and he has to show he’s good enough to play for a massive club. I heard Wanner’s focus and concentration are 100% on PSV Eindhoven currently. He’s determined to show he’s the best in his position in the Dutch top-flight. Then this can bring him into the focus of top clubs. At the moment, it’s not hot with Bayern.
Was Aleksandar Pavlović using Manchester City?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Aleksandar Pavlović used interest from Manchester City to drive up his salary at FC Bayern. I heard the idea was €100m for the first bid. He informed the club about the interest, but not to hint that he wanted more money. Pavlović is currently on a long-term contract with Bayern and has a good salary for a young player at the club. I heard it could rise to €8m [£6.8m] and it’s getting better and better every year he’s playing well. Aleksandar Pavlović loves Bayern Munich. He has the same plan as Harry Kane: to win the Champions League. He’s grown up sleeping in Bayern bed sheets, always having the club in his heart. He hasn’t made any kind of negotiation with the club to try and get more money.
Incoming talks with Min-jae Kim
✅ It is TRUE: Bayern Munich have planned talks in the Autumn with Min-jae Kim to discuss his future. This is a big surprise. The South Korean was on the list where Bayern Munich told the player that if he has a good offer, they’d sell him. But now Vincent Kompany and Min-jae Kim are working very well together and he’s getting a lot of playing time. It’s not just Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano in the first row; it’s kind of a rotation between the three players. I remember, further back, we had players like Lucio, Martín Demichelis, and Daniel Van Buyten, and this was a similar situation with shared game time. So, at the moment, Kim is really confident, and the club is also confident now. They’re getting the sign that they can have talks in the Autumn over his future, and this will be very interesting. It’s a big change, but the credit goes to the player for keeping quiet while he wasn’t playing but working really hard and playing very well when he got on the pitch.
A solution for Sacha Boey in January
Bayern aren’t exactly confident that they’ll sell Sacha Boey in January; there’s just a little hope that they’ll strike a deal with another club. There has been some interest, as we previously reported, from Saudi Arabia when the summer window was still open. But it’s also a bit of a problem that Boey isn’t willing to change clubs in any league. It’s also a question of salary and he’s earning good money at FC Bayern. When he was coming from Galatasaray, Bayern were in need at this position, with the Bavarians paying €30m with add-ons worth €5m. As you see, it’s really hard for Bayern Munich. For every other player on the list, they found a solution. At the moment, there’s no club in sight.
Could Manuel Neuer return to Schalke?
Schalke would be interested in bringing Manuel Neuer back to the club. But I don’t think Neuer himself would want this. He loves Schalke; it’s a big club, but he doesn’t think that he’ll play again in this stadium, either for FC Bayern or for Schalke. I’m really sure that the goalkeeper will retire at the end of the season and that’s it. Neuer has played for such a long time at a top level, and he’s 40 years old. He’s allowed to say that’s okay now.
