In their Club World Cup quarter-final defeat to PSG, Bayern Munich saw their star player Jamal Musiala suffer a nasty looking injury right on the stroke of half-time. The still images were not for the faint hearted.
Reports suggest that the 22-year old is set to be out for “4-5 months” after surgery. Truth be told, that could have been a lot worse. It is far from ideal, but certainly not the worst possible outcome, not by any means.
Realistically, Bayern already needed to make attacking reinforcements. Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller left at the end of their contracts, whilst Mathys Tel joined Tottenham Hotspur permanently. That too, and the club were not able to convince Florian Wirtz to sign.
So, once you add the loss of Musiala until the tail end of 2025, Bayern are now clearly desperate to bring players in the forward areas in. They went into the beginning of last season with Tel, Sané and Müller in the squad, and now have none of them.
Although those three players were not starters, they at least provided depth. Bayern do not need a starting striker over Harry Kane, nor do they need someone to start on the right wing over Michael Olise – but they need bodies in to cover for those players.
Particularly with Kane, who turns 32 before the start of the season, and played over 50 games last time out. The only other senior player who has played up front for Bayern is Serge Gnabry – but he is covering both the right wing and the left wing.
Incredibly, Bayern only have four established fit attackers – Gnabry, Olise, Kingsley Coman and Kane. Under Vincent Kompany, Die Roten have played with a 4-2-3-1 shape. So there is literally no depth to that starting four.
Some say Tom Bischof could be someone to provide depth, but a lot of his better performances at Hoffenheim were from a deeper position, even though he has played as a number ten and right-winger.
To give him credit, Coman had an impressive Club World Cup. However, his fitness has never been reliable and when he is fit, he tends to be inconsistent. As the back up left-winger, he is fine – but Bayern need a starter in that position.
Many sources suggested that sporting director Max Eberl is a big fan of Athletic Club winger Nico Williams, but he has signed a new 10-year contract at the Basque club, so that one can be ruled out.
Elsewhere, Bradley Barcola of PSG has been regularly linked, but he feels happy in Paris and that seems reciprocated by the club. Not impossible, but feels very unlikely at this moment in time.
Rafael Leão is another name that has been linked, and that feels a more viable deal. He has also played up front in his career, so that could kill two birds with one stone. Still, there are question marks about his pressing and tracking back, something that is non-negotiable under Kompany.
The perfect option would be Rodrygo of Real Madrid. The Brazilian winger has struggled for game time at the Club World Cup under new manager Xabi Alonso. Even when he does play, eh very rarely gets the chance to play off the left hand side – his favoured role.
That issue has become more apparent with the emergence of striker Gonzalo Garcia, meaning there is more chance of Kylian Mbappe shifting to the wings. It is clear for Rodrygo’s career, particularly in a World Cup year, that he needs to find a new home.
At Bayern, there is a clear starting spot for him on the left hand side. He would be able to provide cover in pretty much all of the attacking positions too. He would basically be a better version of Gnabry.
In terms of the central issue, another player that could solve problems is Nick Woltemade. The 6’6 striker had a very good season with VFB Stuttgart, and impressed at the U21 Euros. Despite his frame, he has often played as an attacking midfielder during his career so far.
As a result, he is someone who could play off of Kane, with both players having the IQ and technical ability to link up. With the likes of Olise and Kimmich able to get quality crosses in, that could be a cheat code against deep blocks in the Bundesliga.
Furthermore, Woltemade, at just 23 years of age, could prove to be the long term successor Kane in terms of leading the line. Sporting wise, it is a move that makes absolutely perfect sense. It is whether or not it will economically make sense that is the big question.
Ideally for Bayern to be equipped for next season, whilst also being realistic – they will have a new left winger and Coman for the left hand side, Olise as the starter and Gnabry as cover on the right hand side – with Kane and Woltemade as central options and Bischof providing extra cover in case, even if it not his preferred role.
Sure, even better cover for Olise would be perfect, but again it is also keeping things realistic, and it is hard to see a left winger, Woltemade (or similar) and a right winger all being signed, but let’s see.
To finish off, there are still issues in defence. Like with Musiala, Alphonso Davies will miss at least a large chunk of the first half of the season. His recovery pace and quality in build up was key under Kompany last season, and was bitterly missed in the Champions League quarter-finals.
We can safely assume that Adam Aznou is not rated (at least not enough) by the management, with the youngster only playing eight minutes all tournament, all of which came in the opening game drubbing of Auckland City.
So, it is highly improbable that he is given the chance next season. Although Raphael Guerreiro has technical qualities, his pace, or lack there of, is something that can be exposed in the high line that Bayern play. A lot of his best football at Borussia Dortmund came in midfield.
There are similar concerns for Josip Stanišić, although he is a little more athletic. That too and he is a natural right-back, and therefore right footed, making the fit even more awkward. Will those two be enough until Davies is back? Not so sure.
At centre-back there are issues too – Eric Dier left the club on a free transfer, whilst Kim Min-Jae playing through so many injuries has caught up with him. Dayot Upamecano is playing the best football of his Bayern career under Kompany, but there are doubts over who partners him.
Given he could have gone anywhere on a free transfer, it feels like Jonathan Tah was probably given assurances over game time when he joined Bayern. However his lack of mobility feels like an issue, and it was exposed in the win over Boca Juniors at the Club World Cup.
Undoubtedly, the best spell of Tah’s career came under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, where he played in the middle of a back three, with bodies and legs around him to cover his weaknesses. That will not be the case in Munich.
Well, on the topic of Leverkusen, and the topic of Bayern needing a left back and a centre back – Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié is said to have a release clause of 50-60 million Euros according to Kicker, who were also told by the player’s agent that he feels he is ready for the next step of his career.
This would be an absolutely brilliant signing for Bayern. So far in his career, Hincapié has played as a left-back, centre-back in a back four, left wing-back and, with the most success, left centre-back in a back three.
Despite playing his best football in a back three, the 23-year old is more than capable of playing in a back four, and as touched on above, has done many times in his career. He could easily play as a left-back in the absence of Davies – he would be very suited to the back three build up that Bayern use under Kompany.
Furthermore, he could partner Upamecano at centre-back. During the Club World Cup, Kompany used Upamecano as the right sided central defender, so Hincapié could easily just slot next to him as the left sided option.
To finish off, whilst it not a priority compared to some of the other options – Bayern could still do with an extra right-back if possible. To give him credit, Konrad Laimer had an impressive Club World Cup, and his counter pressing helped a lot. However, his lack of on ball traits were often exposed too, and Bayern could do with someone who offers more in possession.
To summarise, an ideal yet realistic window for Bayern; Rodrygo, Woltemade, Hincapié. Bonuses: different option at right-back, better cover for Olise.
