🚨 Christian Falk's Fact Files - Bayern are watching Chelsea star
Today's exclusive transfer round-up from Bundesliga insider Christian Falk, featuring Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal and more
[From left to right: Christian Falk, Benjamin Šeško & Edmond Tapsoba]
Today’s top stories
What next for Benjamin Šeško after Arsenal focus on Viktor Gyökeres?
Have Newcastle actually made a bid for Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba?
All the latest on FC Bayern’s pursuit of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz…
Bundesliga transfers & news
BAYERN MUNICH
If you saw the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final between Real Madrid and PSG, I think Europe knows that the quarter-final between Bayern and Paris was a showcase of the two strongest teams of the tournament. It was “the final”. So, it was the expectation that whoever would win this bout would go on to challenge for the cup itself.
Head coach Vincent Kompany is evidently doing a great job. Everybody saw how close things were between Bayern and the Champions League holders. The teams were, I think, on one level. But in the end, PSG were more clever. Kompany, of course, has to learn that his plans live and die on what happens in the goal. He made one big mistake, and that was in the third game against Benfica when he changed seven starters in the first-XI. Normally, Bayern would easily top the group, and then they would have followed Chelsea’s route to the final. I think FC Bayern would have found their way to the final.
From a sporting perspective, the campaign was a success, as Europe now knows that Bayern is able to compete at the very top of the food chain. This will surely carry over in the Champions League in the upcoming 2025/26 season. However, financially, it was not so successful for Bayern Munich because they would have earned a lot more money if they had managed to progress past the quarter-finals. That’s why it was disappointing for the club - especially so because they paid a high price with the injury to playmaker Jamal Musiala. We don’t yet know for how long exactly the German international will be sidelined for, however, it’s fair to assume we probably won’t see him again this year.
True✅: Max Eberl had contact with Xavi Simons’ team. Simons would not only be a sporting alternative for Bayern for both of their sought-after positions, but the flirtation with the Leipzig player also provides valuable leverage in the poker games with Stuttgart and Liverpool for Woltemade and Diaz. Leipzig are open to talks. The price tag could be €60m [£51.7m]. However, Bayern’s first and second-choice targets remain Nick Woltemade and Luis Diaz. In both cases, these will involve hard negotiations.
At VfB Stuttgart, the head of sport, Fabian Wohlgemuth, made it very clear again this week that the club will fight for Woltemade. Stuttgart is more than aware of the fact that it will be hard to keep the centre-forward if he wants to leave. If the club fights hard on this, of course, everyone knows they will let him go just for a high price, potentially a fee over the €80m [£68.9m] mark.
The same is true for Diaz. We exclusively reported on Bayern knocking on Luis Diaz’s door with CF Bayern Insider. Sources close to negotiations also confirmed that the left winger wants to join Bayern Munich. However, in the end, he has a contract with Liverpool (expiring in the summer of 2027), and the Reds also paid a lot of money to sign him from FC Porto back in January 2022. So, you see, it’s a similar situation to what Bayern are facing with Woltemade. We have confirmed that the Bundesliga champions have submitted an offer of €52m [£44.8m], with the player keen to join the club. We can also reasonably assume that Liverpool will want to set the price of negotiations, similarly to Stuttgart, from €80m. So, FC Bayern can’t be sure that they will succeed on both transfer fronts. In this case, we can keep an eye on Xavi Simons. The Dutchman can play both positions and could be a useful backup option if the other transfers don’t work out. RB Leipzig is said to be open to selling the attacking midfielder for €70m [£60.3m].
Christopher Nkunku fills a similar space for Bayern, as we exclusively reported. The Chelsea forward can also play in Musiala’s position. He’s also effective on the wings. Max Eberl was a little furious with the report we made. He was in the mixed zone talking about the many players (not naming any specific names) he’s in conversations about, as we mentioned in our podcast, that he’s touching base with many players instead of pushing hard for one. But that’s just the way Eberl works. So, at the moment, he’s keeping touch with multiple players with a view to completing deals for one or two. That’s why there are so many names that have been thrown up in the air around FC Bayern.
There are always rumours about Malick Fofana, for instance, but in this case, we don’t have proof of serious interest. The long list at Bayern could have many names. We’ve talked previously about Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford; we know there were internal discussions in the club about the forward. So, you see, the Eberl way in the end. It was the same for head coach Vincent Kompany. The Belgian is working very well at Bayern and was a good decision, but even he was number seven on Eberl’s list.
Not True ❌: Bayern are in talks with Markus Krösche to replace Max Eberl. Everybody at the club is now on holiday for three weeks after the Club World Cup exit. Not Eberl, of course, he has to work during this period - partly because there remain many rumours around his future. There were reports circulating that Bayern are already negotiating with his potential successor, Markus Krösche from Eintracht Frankfurt. We know that’s not true, but Eberl still has to show what he can do in the summer transfer window - this is true. Bayern Munich will judge him on his performance in the window. That’s why nobody can say that in the future the club won’t consider replacing him with a potential successor like Krösche. At the moment, he has the trust of the board for this transfer window. In the end, it all comes down to how Bayern approach everything at the club - if you’re not first in class at what you’re doing, your position can be in serious trouble.
We exclusively reported on Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa’s interest in João Palhinha. Bayern are aware of the interest, but there have yet to be any offers. There’s hope that the Bavarians can get a good deal for him, but they’re of course not going to get back the €51m [£43.9m] they initially spent last summer. So that’s perhaps a good situation for both sides. Palhinha still has to decide if he will leave Bayern this summer. There are two clubs with ambitions of signing the Portuguese international but it comes down to the holding midfielder. I think Palhinha saw at the Club World Cup that it will be very hard to stay in Munich given the only chance he got to start a game came against Benfica - and that was a defeat! So, not many good arguments for the player’s future at Bayern Munich.
True✅: Bayern are watching Renato Veiga. However, as we’ve discussed previously, Bayern Munich must first sell players before making concrete moves in the market. In this case, they have to sell Kim Min-jae. There’s no solution yet on this front. The South Korean centre-back was injured, and now the club has to see how the situation will evolve. There aren’t any concrete offers on the table presently. There was an idea of a move to Saudi Arabia, but, in the end, Kim didn’t make it clear if he would be open to this solution. There have to be numbers on the table, and if FC Bayern can’t sell him, there will be no topic for Renato Veiga. If Bayern can sell Kim Min-jae, Veiga is the player they will go for next.
For everything FC Bayern, join Christian Falk on CF Bayern Insider!
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
True✅: Juventus knocked on the door at Bayer Leverkusen to get information on Granit Xhaka’s situation. They are interested, but they haven’t made an offer yet. He’s a key player for Leverkusen. On the Monday coming, the team is set to head off to their training camp. Xhaka, however, as has been well-documented, didn’t have the best of starts with new boss Erik ten Hag, as the former Manchester United head coach didn’t call him as early as the midfielder would have liked. Still, if there’s no concrete offer on the table for Xhaka before Monday, it will be hard for the Swiss international to get out of the club and his contract, as Leverkusen have to plan for the upcoming season.
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